Event Information

Wilson Library Visiting Summer Research Fellow Talk -- Thomas Healy (Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia)

Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia

In 1969, with America's urban centers in turmoil and racial tensions high, civil rights leader Floyd McKissick announced a plan to build a new city in rural North Carolina.  Named Soul City, it was designed to be a model of black economic empowerment.  But in spite of financial support from the Nixon Administration, McKissick's plan soon ran into trouble: a stagnant economy, a hostile press, and Jesse Helms.  In this lecture, Professor Thomas Healy will chronicle the rise and fall of Soul City, discuss its implications for the pursuit of racial equality today, and highlight the role of the Wilson Special Collections Library in piecing together the story.

Thomas Healy is a professor of law at Seton Hall University School of Law.  A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and Columbia Law School, he is a former journalist who served as Supreme Court Correspondent for the Baltimore Sun.  His first book, "The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind – and Changed the History of Free Speech in America," won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.

Support for Mr. Healy's fellowship is generously provided by the Documenting Social Change Library Fund supports the study of American culture, politics, and social changes from 1960 to 1975.​

Date:
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Time:
10:30am - 11:45am
Venue:
Wilson Library
Categories:
Lectures, Readings and Talks  

Contact

Matt Turi