Beau Grosscup and Laverne Merritt-Gordon, Co-authors of “Tell Them What You Want”

Registration required

The lecture is based on Laverne Merritt-Gordon’s creative memoir, Tell Them What You Want, in which an African-American girl ‘Bernie’ grows up in southwest Ohio amidst the 1950s-mid-1970s socio-political turmoil. The focus is on Merritt-Gordon’s confrontations with the complexities of racism, (as well as socio-economic class and gender) that challenge the popular image of Oxford, as an idyllic ‘Camelot,’ and Miami University as it’s enlightened intellectual and social hub. Merritt-Gordon’s historical experiences, as well as those of others in Oxford and at Miami offer a unique link to the race, (class and gender) issues in which the alleged North American ‘post-racial’ society is currently embroiled.