Civil Rights class at library

Published 1:30 am Friday, October 7, 2022

Orcas Islanders are welcome to join a free class currently taking place on Thursday mornings at the Public Library and on Zoom. Led by Dr. Maeve Devoy (University of California), the class is entitled, “The Long Civil Rights Movement: A Brief History.” Free of charge, the class features weekly discussions of shared historical readings designed to foster a better understanding of our nation’s troubled racial past and the challenges we continue to face as we strive to achieve racial equality.

Racial injustice has been a hallmark of American life since the first Europeans arrived on the continent centuries ago. The arrival of the first 20 enslaved Africans in Virginia in 1619 set the tone for race relations in what would become the United States, creating a two-tiered racial system that has permeated all aspects of American society and culture. Yet white supremacy has always been contested and resisted — by enslaved Africans and their African-American descendants, often (but not always) with the support of white allies. While we think of the Civil Rights Movement as a phenomenon of the 1950s and 1960s, that “classical” phase of the struggle for racial equality tells just part of the story. In this class, we consider events and phenomena within the “classical” phase and beyond. We will also welcome to class three distinguished guest speakers.

The class, which continues through Nov. 17, is sponsored by the Orcas Hotel. To register, email madevoyphd@gmail.com.