The William G Anderson Lecture Series: Slavery to Freedom, An American Odyssey formed at Michigan State University 26 years ago. The series brings in guest speakers to lead thought provoking discussions about solutions to issues impacting civil and human rights.

This year the guest speakers are Dr. Jelani Cobb, the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York, Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) and Mary Ann Pettway and China Pettway of Gee’s Bend Quilting Collective.

Dr. Marita Gilbert is the Associate Dean of Osteopathic Engagement & Community Practice at Michigan State University. She leads the lecture series. Dr. Gilbert joined The Metro to talk about the lectures this year, and the big question of who really influences history.

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Women have been at the forefront of civil rights and human rights movements throughout history. Yet, their stories are left untold and forgotten.

Dr. Keisha N. Blain is a historian, speaker, advocate, and social justice activist who is a best-selling author. She is a professor of Africana studies at Brown University.  Her most recent book “Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights” takes a historical look back at various civil rights movements and the Black women behind the scenes who created global change. 

Dr. Blain spoke at Wayne State University as part of the university’s annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration. She joined The Metro to talk about the women who helped progress human rights, often leading to systemic change.

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The Civil Rights Movement is largely remembered for its actions in the South, but segregation was a nationwide issue. Dr. King experienced this first hand.

Jeanne Theoharis is professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. In her new book “King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South” she writes about King’s time in Pennsylvania and Boston as a student and his return to the Midwest, East, and Western regions of the U.S. at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

She joined the show to discuss the book and what it teaches us about social movements in America today.

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Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

More stories from The Metro