Name: “Not Butlers” with with Ron & Seán
Start: 2026-02-24T12:00:00-05:00
Location: Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library

$\u201cNot Butlers\u201d with with Ron & Se\u00e1n$

Instead of another familiar, unchallenging race relations story like those found in “The Butler (2013),” “The Help (2011),” or “Driving Miss Daisy (1989),” join Ron Scott Jr. of the Wheeling Y.W.C.A. and the library’s Seán Duffy for a discussion of two lesser known African American men who made history through valor and action. Robert Smalls escaped slavery during the Civil War to commandeer a Confederate ship, and David Fagen defected from the U.S. Army in the Philippine-American War to join the Filipino independence movement. Both men did what they believed was right during dangerous historical eras for African American people. We will be joined during the program via Zoom by Rob Edwards, author of the new graphic novel, Defiant: The Story of Robert Smalls. Edwards has also written the Disney animated feature films Treasure Planet and The Princess and the Frog, both of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. In addition, he recently wrote Captain America: Brave New World for Marvel Studios.