About this Event
We are delighted to host Marion Orr for his new book House of Diggs at Source Booksellers!! We are impressed with the book and excited to celebrate with the Detroit community.
You can join the event with ticket at this link - There are free and book tickets. The event will include a rich conversation, a Q & A session and booksigning line. If you are interested in Detroit history, you do not want to miss this event.
About the book
A Black congressman's fight for civil rights, from Emmett Till to anti-apartheid activism
At the height of the civil rights movement, Charles C. Diggs Jr. (1922–1998) was the consummate power broker. In a political career spanning 1951 to 1980, Diggs, Michigan’s first Black member of Congress, was the only federal official to attend the trial of Emmett Till’s killers, worked behind the scenes with Martin Luther King Jr., and founded the Congressional Black Caucus. He was also the chief architect of legislation that restored home rule to Washington, DC, and almost single-handedly ignited the American anti-apartheid movement in the 1960s. Drawing on extensive archival research, including Diggs’s rarely seen personal papers, FBI documents, and original interviews with family members and political associates, political scientist Marion Orr reveals that Diggs practiced a politics of strategic moderation. Orr argues that this quiet approach was more effective than the militant race politics practiced by Adam Clayton Powell and more appealing than the conservative Chicago-style approach of William Dawson—two of Diggs’s better-known Black contemporaries.
Vividly written and deeply researched, House of Diggs is the first biography of Congressman Charles C. Diggs Jr., one of the most consequential Black federal legislators in US history. Congressman Diggs was a legislative lion whose unfortunate downfall punctuated his distinguished career and pushed him and his historic accomplishments out of sight. Now, for the first time, House of Diggs restores him to his much-deserved place in the history of American politics.
About the Author
Marion Orr is the Frederick Lippitt Professor of Public Policy and professor of political science and urban studies at Brown University.
In Conversation with Brandon Hunter
Branden Hunter is a Black Detroiter, journalist, and social media figure known for documenting Detroit's Black history and culture through his "Black Detroiter" platform. Hunter has been interviewed by outlets like CBS Detroit about his project and its goal of telling the story of Black Detroit from a Black perspective.He is also a runner who participates in half marathons.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Source Booksellers, 4240 Cass Avenue, Detroit, United States
USD 0.00 to USD 34.59
