Harmony & Harassment: A New Critical Race Theory Story

Join us to celebrate the publication of book two in Aja Y. Martinez and Robert O. Smith's exciting new CRT trilogy: Harmony & Harassment Join us to celebrate the publication of book two in Aja Y. Martinez and Robert O. Smith's exciting new CRT trilogy. Harmony & Harassment: A New Critical Race Theory Story traces the headwaters of critical race theory (CRT) to the rural community of Harmony, Mississippi, at the height of the 1960s US civil rights movement. As Martinez and Smith explore these headwaters, readers meet key community leaders such as Behonor McDonald, Winson Hudson, and Dovie Hudson. These Black women's activism for civil rights, voting rights, and educational access transformed their community while also providing the foundations for Derrick Bell's legal theories, Alice Walker's womanist concept, and the enduring educational program now known as Head Start. Building on extensive archival research and a web of deeply human relationships, Martinez and Smith argue for renewed appreciation of counterstory as central to CRT methodology. Harmony and Harassment shows how CRT developed from the ground up; from this foundation, its insights continue to hold great potential for strengthening education, legal studies, and the humanities and social sciences. We encourage everyone to prepurchase their books before the event as we cannot guarantee book availability without prepurchase. ABOUT THE BOOK Harmony and Harassment traces the headwaters of critical race theory (CRT) to the rural community of Harmony, Mississippi, at the height of the 1960s US civil rights movement. As Aja Y. Martinez and Robert O. Smith explore these headwaters, readers meet key community leaders such as Behonor McDonald, Winson Hudson, and Dovie Hudson. These Black women's activism for civil rights, voting rights, and educational access transformed their community while also providing the foundations for Derrick Bell's legal theories, Alice Walker's womanist concept, and the enduring educational program now known as Head Start. Building on extensive archival research and a web of deeply human relationships, Martinez and Smith argue for renewed appreciation of counterstory as central to CRT methodology. Harmony and Harassment shows how CRT developed from the ground up; from this foundation, its insights continue to hold great potential for strengthening education, legal studies, and the humanities and social sciences. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Aja Y. Martinez is Associate Professor of Latina/Latino Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and author of the multi-award-winning book Counterstory: The Rhetoric and Writing of Critical Race Theory, now in its second edition. Robert O. Smith (Chickasaw) is Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and author of More Desired Than Our Owne Salvation: The Roots of Christian Zionism. Together, Martinez and Smith are coauthors of The Origins of Critical Race Theory: The People and Ideas That Created a Movement. EVENT SCHEDULE 2:00pm Doors 2:15pm Welcome to MATTER 2:20pm Book talk 3:15pm Audience Q&A 3:30pm Book signing and informal conversation ACCESSIBILITY Parking: Metered street parking is available (parallel parking) on Market St. Paid lots are available within a few blocks. The closest one is on 21st and Market St. Entrance Access: Our front door is at street level and manually operated, accessible for wheelchairs and mobility aids. The rest of the block has sidewalks raised by five steps; however, the bike lane offers a step-free route down the block with minimal car traffic. Restrooms: All-gender restrooms. Just like at home. Communication: All staff on site speak English. There will be one Spanish speaking staff member. We welcome communication via translation apps (Google Translate is available). While we do not use ASL, we’re happy to communicate through apps or other tools that work for you. Alcohol Policy: No alcohol will be served or permitted at this event. Questions or Requests: Please contact us at [email protected] with any accessibility needs or questions. We encourage everyone to prepurchase their books before the event as we cannot guarantee book availability without prepurchase.