Civil rights author visiting Port bookstore | Massachusetts

NEWBURYPORT  — Illume Books will host historian and author Jason Sokol on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. for a discussion of his acclaimed book “All Eyes Are Upon Us: Race and Politics from Boston to Brooklyn.”

In “All Eyes Are Upon Us,” Sokol examines the racial struggles of the Northeast during the civil rights era, tracing a powerful and often overlooked history from Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field to the streets of Boston during the height of the busing crisis. The book explores how northern cities could serve as both symbols of interracial democracy and centers of racial segregation and white violence. These seemingly opposing realities unfolded side by side, often at the same time and in the same places.

Sokol’s talk will address key moments and figures, including Jackie Robinson’s efforts to buy a home in the Connecticut suburbs, Edward Brooke’s groundbreaking campaigns for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, Shirley Chisholm’s pathbreaking political career in Brooklyn, and Joe Biden’s opposition to school busing.

Join us for an author Q&A led by state Rep. Dawne Shand, D-Newburyport; and Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon. 

The event takes place at Illume Books, located at 10 Market Square, Newburyport, and is open to the public.