Case Western Reserve University announces fall Think Forum lecture featuring historian Martha S. Jones

Case Western Reserve University’s Think Forum lecture series will present a free virtual lecture this fall examining African American women’s pursuit of political power.

For the Oct. 22 event, Think Forum is partnering with Case Western Reserve University History Associates and the Department of History to host renowned historian Martha S. Jones as the featured scholar for the Carl W. Ubbelohde Lecture.

Martha S. Jones

Jones is a historian, writer and commentator whose work examines how Black Americans have shaped the story of democracy in the United States. She is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. During this historic year celebrating the centennial of the 19th amendment, granting women the right to vote, Jones will speak on the topic of “Vanguard: African American Women and the Road from Suffrage to Voting Rights.”

Jones’ recently published book, Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All, synthesizes the multi-generational work of Black women who defied both racism and sexism to fight for the ballot and challenged America to realize its best ideals.

Jones also authored Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America (2018), winner of the Organization of American Historians Liberty Legacy Award for the best book in civil rights history. Her writing frequently appears in other publications, including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, USA Today, Public Books, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Time. In addition, she has collaborated on a variety of museum, film and video productions.

Her lecture will be presented Thursday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m. The virtual event is free and open to all. More information and event registration is available online.

Support for Think Forum

Presented annually, the Think Forum series allows the campus community and Greater Cleveland residents to engage with prominent academic leaders and national experts.

The 2020 Think Forum lecture is presented with support and partnership from CWRU History Associates, the Department of History and the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland.

CWRU History Associates promotes the educational and research objectives of the Department of History. The League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland serves voters in Cuyahoga County and is celebrating its centennial year of empowering voters and defending democracy.

For more information, contact Bill Lubinger at william.lubinger@case.edu.