Lighting the Fires of Freedom

Groundbreaking: one of very few books to highlight women’s activism in the Civil Rights Movement. Eight of the nine women are still alive, and continue to do civil rights work, and will help promote, including Leah Chase who still runs Dookey Chases’s Restaurant in New Orleans, Kathleen Cleaver is still teaching law at Emory, and Myrlie Evers was instrumental in having the Medgar and Myrlie Evers House was named as a National Historic Landmark this year.

Lively, engaging, and well-respected author: Janet Bell, widow of the renowned scholar Derek Bell, is a force of nature; she has held positions at the National Urban League, the AFL-CIO, and the Opportunity Agenda.

50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1968: The anniversary of the fair housing act will provide opportunities for reflection on the history of the civil rights movement making these stories more timely and important.

Author Expertise: Author is an expert on women’s leadership, African-American leadership, and African-American women’s leadership.

Events: Bell will speak of significant public events and will again organize the high-profile annual Derek Bell lecture at the NYU Law School, attended by over 1,000 people.