Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum launches ‘For the People’ speaker series

Debuts Feb. 24 with historian Tamika Nunley

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Whether free, fugitive or enslaved, the Black women of Washington, D.C., just before the Civil War faced tremendous obstacles with courage and ingenuity, as historian Tamika Nunley will explain in the debut of a new series at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

The “For the People” speakers series features bold thinkers with unique insights into the people of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Six free events are planned for 2022, featuring a noted sportscaster, a Holocaust expert and more.

The series begins Feb. 24 with Nunley, author of“At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and Shifting Identities in Washington, D.C.” By digging through 19th- century newspapers, records, letters and

memoirs, Nunley has shed new light on how Black women built identities and lives beyond the restrictions meant to keep them from experiencing liberty, self-respect and power.

The book has been called “wonderful,” an “incredible contribution” and a “powerful history of Black women’s freedom-making in Washington.”

Nunley will appear at the ALPLM at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 24. To reserve a free seat, please visithttps://www. tix.com/ticket-sales/ LMSpecialEvents/2469/ event/1258045. Teachers who attend the event can get 1.5 credits for continuing professional development.

Oher upcoming speakers include:

• April 7, Edward E. Curtis IV, author of “Muslims of the Heartland” • May 5, Arielle Weininger and Jim Lommasson, the curator and photographer behind

“Stories of Survival,” the ALPLM’s upcoming exhibit on surviving genocide
• June2,Christopher Browning, a Holocaust expert whose books include“Remembering Survival: Inside a Nazi Slave Labor Camp”

• Sept. 8: Alexander Heffner, host of the PBS series “The Open Mind”
• Oct. 18: Jason Benetti, Chicago White Sox broadcaster with cerebral palsy.

“I’m thrilled to bring these brilliant minds to the ALPLM. Each one has fascinating stories to tell, whether they experienced it firsthand or discovereditafteryearsof research,” said Christina Shutt, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
and Museum uses a combination of rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship to immerse visitors in Lincoln’s life and times. The library