Written Then, Spoken Now: Freedom Was In Sight!
February 7, 2025
In celebration of the book Freedom Was in Sight: A Graphic History of Reconstruction in the Washington, D.C., Region, Ford’s Theatre is proud to present an elevated book talk with acclaimed Reconstruction scholar Dr. Kate Masur, dramaturg Faedra C. Carpenter and educator Candra Flanagan on February 7, 2025. Blended with their conversation, we will showcase vibrant illustrations by Liz Clarke and feature actors reading aloud excerpts of the book. The event will conclude with a book signing.
Experience the convergence of history and theatre, as we bring to life stories of Black Americans in Washington, D.C., and its surrounding region, who bravely worked to reunite their families, build their communities, and claim rights long denied them.
“This tale of America’s second founding in the capital city as thousands of freedmen found new homes and lives is withering, visually stunning, and good history all at once.“—David W. Blight, author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom.
“Freedom Was in Sight is a revelation. Kate Masur’s exceptional scholarship combined with Liz Clarke’s virtuosic illustrations bring the history of Reconstruction to life with color, texture, and humanity. Never has Reconstruction been rendered in such a dynamic way. No longer is the history an abstraction. Here it leaps from the page. It breathes. It speaks. It haunts. It quakes. I can’t stop thinking about this book.“—Clint Smith, author of How the Word Is Passed

Featuring

Kate Masur is a professor at Northwestern University who specializes in nineteenth-century U.S. history. She’s the author of Until Justice Be Done: America’s First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction, a finalist for the Pulitzer P/rize in History and a New York Times “critics’ pick” for 2021.
Kate led a team of students and staff at Northwestern in the creation of Black Organizing in Pre-Civil War Illinois: Creating Community, Demanding Justice, a web exhibit associated with the Colored Conventions Project.
She regularly collaborates with museums and other nonprofits, including the National Park Service, the National Constitution Center, the Newberry Library, and the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. She was a key consultant for the 2019 documentary, Reconstruction: America after the Civil War and appeared in the 2021 CNN film, Lincoln: Divided We Stand.

Faedra Chatard Carpenter, recipient of the American Theatre and Drama Society’s Betty Jean Jones Award for Outstanding Teacher of American Theatre and Drama (2019), was also honored with the Anne Warren Leadership Award (2018) from the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, and the University of Maryland’s Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award (2016). Dr. Carpenter is a theatre and performance studies scholar, professional dramaturg, and cultural critic. Her research, writing, public speaking, and creative activities are grounded in her advocacy for diversity, inclusion, and cultural fluency within a wide range of institutional spheres.
Dr. Carpenter’s book, Coloring Whiteness: Acts of Critique in Black Performance (University of Michigan Press), received the Honorable Mention for ATDS’ John W. Frick Book Award for the best book in American theatre and drama in 2014 as well as the Honorable Mention for ASTR’s 2015 Errol Hill Award for outstanding scholarship in African American theater, drama, and/or performance studies.

Candra Flanagan is the director of the Teaching and Learning unit in the Education Department at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. She dedicated to establishing research-based, audience-appropriate K-12 initiatives for educators and students which incorporate the African American experience into the larger story of history. As a museum educator, Candra enjoys connecting the museum’s content to learning goals within museum initiatives, traditional programming, and exhibition teams. She has written articles for the Journal of Museum Education, Social Education from the National Council for the Social Studies, the annual themes book for National History Day, and Teaching Tolerance from the Southern Poverty Law Center. With a B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park and a M.A. from the University of Virginia, she is passionate about the power of non-formal learning as well as encouraging life-long learning in educators and students.

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-252940-OMS-23].