Welcome to the Not Old Better Show. I'm your host Paul Vogel-Sang and this is episode number 315.

Today's show is brought to you by Care Of.

As part of our Smithsonian Associates Art of Living Series, our guest today is Richard Bell.

Dr. Richard Bell, a previous guest on a show and a fan favorite, is a distinguished professor of history at the University of Maryland.

Today on the Not Old Better Show we'll be talking with Dr. Richard Bell, who will be presenting

at the Smithsonian Associates program titled The Books that

fought Slavery about the long fight against American slavery which produced some

of the most powerful autobiographies and works of fiction in American history. This four evening book

discussion series offers the chance to learn about, read, and informally discuss

classics of the period by men and women both black and white who were

central figures in the struggle to destroy race slavery in the United States.

American slavery was destroyed during the Civil War, but only after decades of pressure from activists,

both black and white. And we tend to think of the anti-slavery movement as being full of great orators both in Congress and outside of Congress.

That's true. But so much of the work of anti-slavery activism was done in pen and ink by supremely gifted writers like Frederick Douglas, Harriet Beecher Stowe,

William Wells Brown and Solomon Northord.

And in the book series I'm leading at the Smithsonian this spring,

we tackle these four authors greatest works and discuss them in depth in hopes of better understanding

why they wrote, what they wrote, and why their books

fought slavery and changed American history. That of course is our guest today, Dr. Richard Bell.

And now, please join me in welcoming via internet phone

to the not old better show, Dr. Richard Bell.

Dr. Richard Bell, welcome to the not old better show.

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