Jeanne Theoharis with Mariame Kaba | King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South

​Historian and professor Jeanne Theoharis discusses her latest book, King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South, with organizer and educator Mariame Kaba.

This event will take place in person and online at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on the 7th Floor.

The Martin Luther King Jr. of popular memory vanquished Jim Crow in the South. But in this myth-shattering book, award-winning and New York Times bestselling historian Jeanne Theoharis argues that King’s time in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago—outside Dixie—was at the heart of his campaign for racial justice. King of the North follows King as he crisscrosses the country from the Northeast to the West Coast, challenging school segregation, police brutality, housing segregation, and job discrimination. For these efforts, he was relentlessly attacked by white liberals, the media, and the federal government.

In this bold retelling, King emerges as a someone who not only led a movement but who showed up for other people’s struggles; a charismatic speaker who also listened and learned; a Black man who experienced police brutality; a minister who lived with and organized alongside the poor; and a husband who—despite his flaws—depended on Coretta Scott King as an intellectual and political guide in the national fight against racism, poverty, and war.

To join the event in person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

To view the livestream | Whether you're attending in person or online, you must register with your email address. You will need a device with audio and/or video and an internet/cellular connection to view the livestream.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Jeanne Theoharis is a Historian and Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College, and author of 13 books about the Civil Rights Movement and the fight for racial justice in the United States. In addition to King of the North, her other work includes the award-winning book The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. She served as a consulting producer for the documentary by the same name. Theoharis along with Brandy Colbert also published a young adult version of the book in 2021.

Mariame Kaba is an organizer, educator, librarian/archivist, curator, zinemaker and prison industrial complex (PIC) abolitionist who is active in movements for racial, gender, and transformative justice. Kaba co-leads Interrupting Criminalization, an organization she co-founded with Andrea Ritchie in 2018. She is the author of the New York Times Bestseller We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice, & the National Bestseller Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care with Kelly Hayes, among several other books that offer support and tools for repair, transformation, and moving toward a future without incarceration and policing.

GET THE BOOK

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog


• This event will also include signing and sales of the book by our Library Shop.

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ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

Livestream

• Captions and a transcript will be provided.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail templateaccessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

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All programs are subject to change or cancellation. All programs are subject to recording and photography.

The 7 Stories Up Series at SNFL is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).