Harvard University’s Dr. Vincent Brown to Discuss New Book on 18th-Century Slave Rebellion Tacky’s Revolt, Feb. 12

Part of Museum’s Popular “Read the Revolution” Speaker Series

Harvard University professor, author, and historian Dr. Vincent Brown will join the Museum of the American Revolution on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at 6 p.m. to discuss the largest slave revolt in the 18th-century British Atlantic world, based on his new book Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War (Belknap Press, January 2020), during Black History Month. The event is part of the Museum’s popular Read the Revolution Speaker Series. 

In 1760, a movement of enslaved West Africans in Jamaica organized an uprising that became known as Tacky’s Revolt. Even after it was put down, the insurgency rumbled throughout the British Empire. Tracing the roots, routes, and reverberations of this event across disparate parts of the Atlantic world, Brown will offer an account of how Tacky’s Revolt set the stage for the American Revolution and the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

“Brilliant…groundbreaking…Brown’s profound analysis and revolutionary vision of the Age of Slave War―from the too-often overlooked Tacky’s Revolt to the better-known Haitian Revolution―gives us an original view of the birth of modern freedom in the New World.” –Cornel West

The discussion will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience. At 7 p.m., Brown will be available to sign copies of his books. Tickets are $15 for Museum members, $20 for non-members, and $10 for students (does not include Museum admission). For more information and to purchase tickets, click here. The event also will be livestreamed at www.amrevmuseum.org/live.

Brown spoke at the Museum’s opening ceremony in April 2017 and advised the Museum on its exhibits related to African American stories. He appeared in a recent segment on CBS Sunday Morning about the Museum’s nuanced approach to the Revolution.

“Vince has been a good friend to the Museum since our formative days, advising us on the development of our core exhibition and electrifying the audience at our grand opening in 2017 alongside luminaries like David McCullough, Vice President Joe Biden, and the late Cokie Roberts,” said Dr. R. Scott Stephenson, Museum President and CEO. “His groundbreaking new book reminds us that the American Revolution was not the only – or even the first – fight for freedom in the 18th-century Age of Revolutions.”

Vincent Brown is the Charles Warren Professor of American History and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University and the author of The Reaper’s Garden, which won the James A. Rawley Prize, the Louis Gottschalk Prize, and the Merle Curti Award. He has received Guggenheim and Mellon New Directions fellowships. His online interactive map Slave Revolt in Jamaica, 1760–1761: A Cartographic Narrative has been viewed by 87,000 users in 184 countries, and his documentary Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, broadcast nationally on PBS, won the John E. O’Connor Film Award and was chosen as Best Documentary at the Hollywood Black Film Festival.

The Museum’s Read the Revolution Speaker Series brings celebrated authors and historians to the Museum for lively discussions of their work. The series is based on the Museum’s national Read the Revolution bi-monthly e-newsletter, which has more than 50,000 subscribers and features excerpts from thought-provoking books to inspire learning about the American Revolution.

Read the Revolution is sponsored by Haverford Quality Investing. The next event in this year’s series will feature author and historian Caitlin Fitz discussing her book Our Sister Republics: The United States in an Age of American Revolutions on May 19, 2020.

About Museum of the American Revolution
The Museum of the American Revolution uncovers and shares compelling stories about the diverse people and complex events that sparked America’s ongoing experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government. Through the Museum’s unmatched collection, immersive galleries, powerful theater experiences, and interactive elements, visitors gain a deeper appreciation for how this nation came to be and feel inspired to consider their role in ensuring that the promise of the American Revolution endures. Located just steps away from Independence Hall, the Museum serves as a portal to the region’s many Revolutionary sites, sparking interest, providing context, and encouraging exploration. The Museum, which opened on April 19, 2017, is a private, non-profit, and non-partisan organization. For more information, visit www.AmRevMuseum.org or call 877.740.1776.