Aiken Lecture: Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

The Warmth of Other Suns chronicles a watershed event in American history--the decades-long migration of African-Americans from the South to the North and West, from World War I through the 1970s—through the stories of three individuals and their families. In her book, Wilkerson traces the lives of Ida Mae Gladney, George Starling, and Robert Foster, from their difficult beginnings in the South, to their critical decisions to leave behind all they know and look for a better life in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

Isabel Wilkerson is Professor of Journalism and Director of Narrative Nonfiction at Boston University. In 1994 she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism. This is her first book.

This lecture will be held at the Atlanta History Center. Admission is $5 members; $10 for nonmembers.  Reservations are required for all lectures.  Call 404.814.4150. 

Support:  The Aiken Lectures are made possible with generous funding from the trust of Lucy Rucker Aiken.