Author Brea Baker will discuss the history and proposed future of Black people’s land ownership at an upcoming University of Kansas event.
The Commons at KU is preparing to host Baker as its spring 2025 Kenneth A. Spencer lecturer, according to a KU news release.
Baker is the author of “Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership,” telling her family’s story of owning land in the south while naming land ownership as a catalyst for Black generational wealth.
Described on her website as “a freedom fighter and writer (in that order),” Baker earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Yale University. While in college, she interned with the U.S. Department of State and Public Defender Service in D.C. and served as president of Yale’s NAACP chapter and co-director of AIDS Walk New Haven.
For her collaboration with fellow activists and organizers, Baker was recognized as a 2023 Creative Capital awardee, a 2017 Glamour Woman of the Year and 2019 i-D Up and Rising, according to the release. Her writing has been featured in several publications, including Refinery 29, Unbothered, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar.
Baker’s talk is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20 at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St. It’s free to attend, but tickets must be reserved via universe.com.
Local community organizations will be present to share information about getting involved, land stewardship and policy issues across the region, and Baker’s book will be available for purchase, according to the release.
Anyone needing assistance or accommodations can contact The Commons staff via email at thecommons@ku.edu.
For the annual Kenneth A. Spencer Lecture, The Commons brings in thinkers of diverse disciplines to share their experiences and knowledge with KU and surrounding communities. Learn more on The Commons’ website, via thecommons.ku.edu.
Learn more about Baker on her website, breabaker.com.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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