Martin Luther King Jr and Betty Friedan were two of the country’s most important social reformers. How did they embody the aims of the Black freedom movement and feminism during the mid-twentieth century? How did they disagree? In this lively conversation at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, a place that celebrates Chicago's most revered reformer, King's biographer Jonathan Eig will be in conversation with Rachel Shteir, author of the first comprehensive biography of Friedan in over twenty years. Esteemed historian Barbara Ransby, University of Illinois Chicago, will moderate this conversation about these two figures and their legacies.

Join us in Hull-House Residents’ Dining Hall for conversation and debate. Refreshments will be served and both biographies will be on sale via Pilsen Community Books.

Jonathan Eig is the bestselling author of six books, including “Ali: A Life,” winner of a 2018 PEN America Literary, and “Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig,” which won the Casey Award. Eig lives in Chicago with his wife and children.

In addition to being the author of “Betty Friedan, Magnificent Disrupter,” Rachel Shteir has written three previous books: “Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show,” “Gypsy: The Art of the Tease,” and “The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting,” Her essays and articles have been widely published, including in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. She is the head and founder of the Dramaturgy Program at the Theatre School at DePaul University.

Dr. Barbara Ransby is the John D. MacArthur Chair and Distinguished Professor of History, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Black Studies at UIC where she directs the Social Justice Initiative. She is also the author of three books, including the award winning, Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement. Dr. Ransby is a longtime Black feminist activist, author and scholar.