Thursday, January 29th, 2026
The Colony House | Washington Square, Newport
Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID
6pm to 7pm; doors open at 5pm for a complimentary reception
Even before they were recognized as citizens of the United States, Black women understood that the fights for civil and human rights were inseparable. Over the course of two hundred years, they were at the forefront of national and international movements for social change, weaving connections between their own and others’ freedom struggles around the world.
Without Fear tells how, during American history, Black women made humans rights theirs: from worldwide travel and public advocacy in the global Black press to their work for the United Nations, they courageously and effectively moved human rights beyond an esoteric concept to an active, organizing principle. Acclaimed historian Keisha N. Blain tells the story of these women—from the well-known, like Ida B. Wells, Madam C. J. Walker, and Lena Horne, to those who are still less known, including Pearl Sherrod, Aretha McKinley, and Marguerite Cartwright. Blain captures human rights thinking and activism from the ground up with Black women at the center, working outside the traditional halls of power.
By shouldering intersecting forms of oppression—including racism, sexism, and classism—Black women have long been in a unique position to fight for freedom and dignity. Without Fear is an account of their aspirations, strategies, and struggles to pioneer a human rights approach to combating systems of injustice.
The Newport Historical Society in partnership with Charter Books is honored to host Dr. Keisha N. Blain for a conversation on her new book, Without Fear: Black Women & the Making of Human Rights, with Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes, the Director of the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History at the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House.
Book now!