"Our Fragile Freedoms" (Book Talk with historian Eric Foner--FREE at BPL)

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CBH Talk | Eric Foner and Andrew Delbanco Discuss “Our Fragile Freedoms” | Brooklyn Public Library

Our Fragile Freedoms:
Join two of our nation’s most distinguished historians for a searching conversation about freedom, democracy, and the lessons of the past. Eric Foner’s newest collection of essays, Our Fragile Freedoms, serves as the springboard for an intimate exchange with Andrew Delbanco. Together, these two towering scholars explore the Civil War and Reconstruction as essential touchstones for understanding today’s convulsions around race, inequality, and political polarization—while also confronting the heated debates over how history itself is taught.
As Foner reminds us, the polarization, prejudice, and challenges to democratic norms we face today are not without precedent. Drawing on the historical record, he illuminates how the legacies of slavery—our nation’s “original unhealed wound”—continue to shape our politics, and how the impulse to deny that history has long undermined progress. His perspective offers both caution and clarity, revealing patterns that echo across centuries.

Freedom in America has always been a birthright for some and a hard-won struggle for others. The rights gained are never guaranteed—they can be lost if not defended with knowledge, vigilance, and civic courage. Join us for this rare opportunity to hear two eminent voices reflect on the past in order to better navigate the urgent crises of the present.

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##### Participants

Eric Foner's indelible works include the landmark history, Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution; a bestselling study of Lincoln and slavery, The Fiery Trial, winner of the Pulitzer, Bancroft, and Lincoln Prizes; and an influential history of the Reconstruction amendments, The Second Founding. The DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, Foner continues to write frequently for The Nation and other publications.
He is one of only two persons to serve as President of the Organization of American Historians, American Historical Association, and Society of American Historians. He has also been the curator of several museum exhibitions, including the prize-winning "A House Divided: America in the Age of Lincoln," at the Chicago Historical Society.
Eric Foner photo courtesy of Lynn Garafola