Douglas A. Blackmon will present the Central Arkansas Library System’s J.N. Heiskell Distinguished Lecture on Friday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library’s Darragh Center at 100 Rock Street.

Blackmon’s book, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction and was a New York Times bestseller. The book is a searing examination of how the enslavement of African Americans persisted deep into the 20^th century, profoundly sculpting current American life. A documentary film based on Slavery by Another Name is scheduled for broadcast on PBS in late 2012.

Blackmon has written extensively over the past 25 years about the American quandary of race-exploring the integration of schools during his childhood in a Mississippi Delta farm town, lost episodes of the Civil Rights movement, and, repeatedly, the dilemma of how a contemporary society should grapple with a troubled past.

The lecture is free and open to the public. A book signing and catered reception will follow the Friday evening lecture. For more information or to RSVP for the lecture, contact lblackwell@cals.org or 918-3029.