FREE EVENT:

                                                                                Lunch provided by Dunk’s BBQ

                                                                               Visitors may bring their own lunch

                                                            Drinks and desserts provided by Great Western Dining

The late political activist and U.S. Congressman John Lewis coined the phrase “good trouble” to describe his civil disobedience in the 1960s. Others, who did not share his vision, considered his actions as merely “disturbing the peace.” These competing views on resisting authority implicitly raise a profound question: “What role have the humanities played in times of crisis, contentiousness, and incredible disagreement?” This talk will explore the issue by looking at the relevance of Abraham Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” for framing today’s debates about race and racism.

John Edgar Tidwell is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Kansas. His research specialties are African American and American literatures, with expertise in the work of the multi-talented Langston Hughes, Kansas-born poet-journalist Frank Marshall Davis, and the Harlem Renaissance.

“Good Trouble” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Movement of Ideas Speakers Bureau, featuring presentations and workshops designed to share stories that inspire, spark conversations that inform, and generate insights that strengthen civic engagement.

For more information about “Good Trouble” contact the Gordon Parks Museum at

(620) 223-2700 ext. 5850 or visit http://www.gordonparkscenter.org/.