About this Event
Join us for an impactful conversation on race, government capitalism and the effects that each had on Black and Brown communities.
Award-winning historian, writer and Assistant Professor of History at Temple University, Bench Ansfield will be here to discuss their new book, Born In Flames.
Bench will be in conversation with scholar, author and activist Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor.
Q&A and book signing will follow the discussion.
Attendees will receive a special discount of 15% off everything while in the store.
See you there!
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About the Book:
BORN IN FLAMES: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City by historian Bench Ansfield uncovers the hidden forces behind the epidemic of urban arson that ravaged American cities in the 1970s. While public officials blamed the fires on Black and Brown communities under the guise of social unrest, Ansfield reveals a far more insidious truth: landlords, incentivized by the property insurance industry and a rising tide of financialization, set buildings ablaze to profit from insurance payouts. Focusing especially on the Bronx—dubbed the "arson capital of the world"—Ansfield introduces the concept of “brownlining,” describing the discriminatory subprime insurance practices that targeted already disinvested neighborhoods under the federally backed FAIR (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements) plan.
Tracing this crisis from the post–World War II formation of racially biased insurance markets to the 1970s arson wave and into the early 21st century, Ansfield shows how profit-driven destruction reshaped urban America. He also highlights the resilience and resistance of tenants who organized to combat this devastation, igniting the roots of today’s housing justice movement. Through a mix of archival research, oral histories, and community records, BORN IN FLAMES not only redefines our understanding of urban decline but also situates these fiery decades within the broader context of global finance, racial capitalism, and cultural expression—where destruction fueled both displacement and the rise of enduring artistic movements like hip-hop.
About the Author:
Bench Ansfield is an assistant professor of history at Temple University. Anfield holds a PhD in American studies from Yale University and won the Allan Nevins Prize for the best dissertation in American history from the Society of American Historians. They live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
About the Moderator:
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is a prominent scholar, writer, and speaker on Black politics, social movements, and racial inequality in the U.S., currently serving as a professor in African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the author of Race for Profit, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, a MacArthur Fellow and influential public intellectual. She has been recognized by The Root and Essence as one of the most influential African Americans and changemakers in the country.
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Doors open at 6:00pm.
Buy your book now and save on the General Admission fee!
All tickets are non-refundable.
Street parking available.
Children older than 5-years old need a ticket for entry.
Bags larger than a hand bag will not be permitted.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Uncle Bobbie's Coffee & Books, 5445 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, United States
USD 37.04
