Episode 3: People of Goodwill

Homework

Don't worry! The word "homework" can create some stress, but no one is going to grade you. There is so much jam-packed into every TNQ episode that we want to give you as many resources as we can.

This episode, we offer you the opportunity to consider the works of four revolutionaries who expanded the imaginations of their contemporaries, and continue to influence our imaginations today.  Consider their courage, but also the courage of those who read and responded to their words (people of goodwill) as we prep for the third episode of The Next Question with Andre Henry. 

FOUR REVOLUTIONARIES

Frederick Douglass 

The Free Negro's Place Is In America In 1851 Douglass makes a case for why free Black people should remain in America. In this speech he declares that Black people are citizens of America, and ends with his belief in the possibility of racial progress. All this 10 years before the Civil War.  

Ida B Wells-Barnett 

Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All It's Phases This is one of Austin's favorite pieces of writing. Here Wells-Barnett uses her journalistic skill to slice through prevailing myths that upheld the practice of lynching. Frederick Douglass complemented her work by writing in a letter “There has been no word equal to it in convincing power... I have spoken, but my word is feeble in comparison.” 

Martin Luther King Jr 

Letter from Birmingham Jail There are many writings to chose from when looking at the body of work of Martin Luther King Jr. Arguably, this isn’t his most revolutionary piece of writing. And yet, this piece continues to strike at our hearts in its unending relevancy. 

Angela Davis 

Are Prisons Obsolete? Angela Davis has long been expanding our imaginations for justice. Here she responds to the question of reform vs abolition, long before our current national conversation on the criminal justice system. Here is a pdf, but if you can afford to purchase the book, we hope you will do so.