Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

When Trees Testify: Learning From and With Trees

Beronda L. Montgomery is a writer, science communicator, researcher and professor at Grinnell College

Montgomery will discuss themes from her recent book, When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy, including the ways seven trees—as well as the cotton shrub—are intertwined with Black history and culture. The histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. Pecan trees were domesticated by an enslaved African named Antoine; sycamore trees were both havens and signposts for people trying to escape enslavement; poplar trees are historically associated with lynching; and willow bark has offered the gift of medicine. These trees, and others, testify not only to the complexity of the Black American narrative but also to a heritage of Black botanical expertise that, like Native American traditions, predates the United States entirely.

The program is presented by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and the Morgan Lecture Fund and co-sponsored by The Trout Gallery and is in conjunction with the Trout Gallery exhibition Branch: Trees in American Art. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s annual theme, Revolutions.

Biography (provided Read more

Weiss Center, Rubendall Recital Hall, 7 p.m.

This program will not be livestreamed

Winfield C. Cook Constitution Day Program

Freedom is Made Safe … Through Character and Learning

Jane E. Calvert, The John Dickinson Writings Project
Jeffrey Rosen, George Washington University Law School

The Clarke Forum and the Department of Music present Jane Calvert (author of Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson) and Jeff Rosen (CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center) for an evening of conversation and performance celebrating Constitution Day. Organized by Dickinson Professor of Music, Jennifer Blyth, readings from Calvert’s book form the basis of a discussion that will be complemented by performed versions of “The Liberty Song,” and some original compositions from Jeff Rosen’s podcast on “The Pursuit of Happiness.” The evening will be followed by a reception and book signing with Jane Calvert.

The program is presented by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and the Department of Music.  It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s annual theme, Revolutions.

Biographies (provided by the speakers)

Dr. Jane E. Calvert is founding director and chief editor of The John Dickinson Writings Project (JDP). She received her Ph.D. in early Read more