Honoring Women's History Month, patrons met Dr. Keisha Blain, the author of Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights. Hear more from Professor of Africana Studies Brown University Dr. Keisha Blain. The argument to make is that the rights we're seeking aren't solely rights because they are protected or granted by the Constitution or because we are citizens of the United States. We're asking for rights that are due to us simply because we are human. When you make that case, you shift the focus, you elevate the conversation, and you actually make it harder for people to deny you those rights. The book is called Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights. What's so powerful about this book is that I talk about ordinary black women, people who advocated for human rights at the grassroots level and made a remarkable difference, but so many people don't know their stories. I wanted to make sure that people understood that black women fought for human rights and they did so even before they were recognized as citizens of the United States. That's a remarkable part of the history and so many people need to know it.

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