The Royall House & Slave Quarters is co-sponsoring a virtual program with author Kellie Carter Jackson on her book, “Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence.” The book explores how, through tactical violence, black abolitionist leaders accomplished what white nonviolent abolitionists could not: creating the conditions that necessitated the Civil War. Jackson, who spoke at the Royall House in 2019, takes readers beyond the honorable politics of moral suasion and the romanticism of the Underground Railroad and into an exploration of the agonizing decisions, strategies, and actions of the black abolitionists who, though lacking an official political voice, were nevertheless responsible for instigating monumental social and political change.

The program is free to Boston Athenaeum members and VESP holders; $5 for all others. Registration is required here: https://bbd.bostonathenaeum.org/register