New Canaan Library's video: New Canaan Library Presents: The Start of Change: Race Wealth and Economic Inequality in America

New Canaan Library Presents: Race, Wealth, and Economic Inequality in America on September 29, 2020. Social justice issues have been front and center in today’s political climate. Inequality – in particular, economic inequality—is at the heart of this social justice agenda, as it was during the civil rights movements of the mid-20th century. “Black Lives Matter” has opened many eyes, bringing concerns long discussed within African-American communities to the surface for all Americans to see. From the violent effects of slavery and Jim Crow to redlining, African Americans have faced hurdles to accessing the basic building blocks of intergenerational wealth in America. Professor Justene Hill Edwards, PhD, will examine the historical relationship between racial discrimination and economic inequality, and discuss why economic inequality continues to be at the forefront of social justice agendas in modern America. New Canaan Library, New Canaan Museum & Historical Society, New Canaan Community Foundation, Interfaith Council of New Canaan, and the Grace Farms Foundation are collaborating to co-host an important series to address our community’s understanding of race and racism. “The Start of Change: Addressing Racism” is a six-part series, designed to bring our community together in developing a common understanding of the history, policy, and experiences shaping present-day discussions of race. Professor Justene Hill Edwards is an assistant professor in the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia. A scholar of African-American history, Hill Edwards specializes in the history of slavery and the history of capitalism in the United States. She received her doctorate in history from Princeton University, holds an MA in African New World studies from Florida International University, and a BA in Spanish from Swarthmore College. Hill Edwards’ first book is Unfree Markets: The Slaves’ Economy and the Rise of Capitalism in South Carolina (forthcoming, March 2021 on Columbia University Press, in the Columbia Series in the History of U.S. Capitalism).