We Refuse

A Forceful History of Black Resistance

When the cover of Kellie Carter Jackson’s new book, We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance hit the internet, everyone’s heart just stopped. What is that? When can I get it? I mean, just look at it. Kellie later told me that she got over a half million likes of the post alone. This friends, is how you draw attention to your work.

I mean, damn.

The reviews turned to be even more spectacular. I knew I had to get Kellie on the pod. So I asked her to come along and she gladly accepted, but chose a film I was not expecting: 2011’s The Help. I had kind of thought that we might end up talking about 12 Years A Slave or Free State of Jones or perhaps something from the antebellum era. But Kellie’s choice, as you’ll see, was brilliant because it allowed us to talk about the long struggle for Black women in the United States.

I don’t want to ruin the pod but Kellie also has very personal reasons for choosing this film. Members of her family labored as Black maids in the South. So we had the chance to talk about all the ways that this film is both very seductive and extremely problematic.

It also turns out that Kellie and I immediately hit it off. Folks, this is my new friend. I just love her to bits. I think she’s absolutely amazing. She is good. She is true. I hope you like the pod.

About our guest:

Kellie Carter Jackson is the Michael and Denise Kellen 68’ Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. She studies the lived experiences of Black people with a focus on slavery, abolitionism, the Civil War, political violence, Black women’s history, and film. She is the author of the award-winning book, Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence, which won the SHEAR James H. Broussard Best First Book Prize. Force and Freedom was also a finalist for the Frederick Douglass Book Prize, a finalist for the Museum of African American History Stone Book Prize, and listed among 13 books to read on African American History by the Washington Post. Carter Jackson is also co-editor of Reconsidering Roots: Race, Politics, & Memory. Her essays have been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, and other outlets. She has also been interviewed for her expertise on Netflix, Apple TV, Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, MSNBC, PBS, Vox, CNN, the BBC, the History Channel, Al Jazeera, Slate, and a host of documentaries. 

Carter Jackson is also a Historian-in-Residence for the Museum of African American History in Boston. She also serves as a commissioner for the Massachusetts Historical Commission, where she represents the Museum of African American History in Boston.

Carter Jackson's latest book, We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance (Seal Press), examines a radical reframing of the past and present of Black resistance—both nonviolent and violent—to white supremacy. She is also working on the story of the only Black passenger on the Titanic which examines the unexplored aspect of race, migration, and our obsession with one ship thought to be supreme.

Lastly, Carter Jackson loves a good podcast! She is the co-host of the podcast, “This Day in Esoteric Political History” with Jody Avirgan and Niki Hemmer and serves as the Executive Producer and host of "You Get a Podcast" formerly known as "Oprahdemics: The Study of the Queen of Talk" by Radiotopia with Leah Wright Rigeuer. You can follow her on Twitter @kcarterjackson. She currently resides in the suburbs of Boston with her husband and three children. 

Own Kellie’s books:

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See ya later, alligators.

JWH