Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Aram Goudsouzian

Leaving White Supremacy

Eli Saslow’s Rising Out of Hatred recounts one man’s confrontation with his own racism

In Rising Out of Hatred, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Eli Saslow tells the story of Derek Black, a former white nationalist who now speaks out against racism. Saslow will give a free public lecture at the University of Memphis on January 23.

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Why Elections Matter

Keel Hunt recalls a time when bipartisan politics forged a better Tennessee

In Crossing the Aisle, Nashville reporter Keel Hunt investigates the political conditions that spurred Tennessee’s economic progress during the 1980s and 1990s.

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A Touchstone for Leaders and Citizens Alike

Legendary historian Doris Kearns Goodwin talks with Chapter 16 about her new book, Leadership in Turbulent Times

In Leadership in Turbulent Times, famed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin considers the lessons that can be drawn from the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. Goodwin will be in conversation with Jon Meacham on October 28. This special edition of the Salon@615 series will be held at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville.

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Black Women Who Changed the World

Keisha Blain talks with Chapter 16 about a lost slice of American history

The historical figures at the center of Set the World on Fire by Keisha Blain are outside the halls of power: they are black, they are women, they are poor or working-class, and they advocate ideas that fall outside the political mainstream. Blain will deliver the Belle McWilliams Lecture in American History at the University of Memphis on October 18 at the River Room in the University Center.

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The Stories of Emmett Till

Historian Elliott Gorn sifts through the myths of a tragic American murder

In Let the People See, Elliott Gorn combines a gripping narrative of American tragedy with a clear-eyed, sensitive reading of the way the Emmett Till story has acquired different meanings over time. Gorn will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14. Festival events are free and open to the public.

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Blood and Profit

Journalist Shane Bauer spent four months undercover in a private prison

American Prison by Shane Bauer is a searing indictment of for-profit prisons, both in his own experience and in American history. Bauer will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 22.

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