Without Fear - with historian Dr. Keisha Blain
Breaking Down Patriarchy
Amy McPhie Allebest
4.9 • 654 Ratings
🗓️ 2 December 2025
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Amy is joined by Dr. Keisha Blain to discuss her new book, Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights, shining a light on unsung heroines of activism and the critical importance of preserving history in our precarious political landscape.
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Dr. Keisha Blain is an award-winning historian of the 20th century United States. She is a Professor of History and Africana Studies at Brown University, as well as one of the founding leaders of the African American Intellectual History Society, and she serves as the editor-in-chief of Global Black Thought, a journal of essays on Black ideas, theories, and intellectuals.
Blain is the author of the books Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom, and Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America. And her most recent book, which we’ll be discussing today, is titled Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights and it was published just this September.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Breaking Down Patriarchy. I'm Amy McPhee, Allivist. |
| 0:04.0 | When we think of the great struggles for human rights in America, the names that might come to mind are typically Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Malcolm X. |
| 0:15.0 | With the exception of Rosa Parks, the leaders in our national consciousness tend to be all men. But in actuality, these men |
| 0:23.5 | were not alone. From the very beginning, black women have built, sustained, and led movements |
| 0:29.4 | for justice, often at great personal risk, often without recognition. From the anti-lynching |
| 0:35.8 | campaigns of Ida B. Wells, all the way to the fight against |
| 0:39.0 | police violence today, black women have always been at the forefront of human rights struggles. |
| 0:44.7 | And yet, their stories have all too frequently been left out of the historical record. So I am |
| 0:50.1 | thrilled about the recent release of the book, Without Fear, Black Women and the Making of Human Rights. |
| 0:56.9 | With a far-reaching scope and meticulous research, Dr. Kisha Blaine traces generations of women who have challenged white supremacy, colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy, women who not only imagined a more just world, but devoted their lives to bringing |
| 1:13.6 | that world into being. It's an essential work of human rights history, and I am truly honored to be |
| 1:19.1 | joined today by the book's author Dr. Keisha Blaine. Welcome, Dr. Blaine. Thank you so much for having me. |
| 1:25.3 | Dr. Keisha Blaine is an award-winning historian of the 20th century |
| 1:28.7 | United States. She is a professor of history and Africana Studies at Brown University, as well as |
| 1:34.2 | one of the founding leaders of the African American intellectual history society. And she |
| 1:38.5 | serves as the editor-in-chief of Global Black Thought, which is a journal of essays on black ideas, |
| 1:43.7 | theories, and intellectuals. |
| 1:46.1 | Blaine is also the author of the books, Set the World on Fire, Black Nationalist Women and the Global |
| 1:51.4 | Struggle for Freedom, and Until I Am free, Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America, |
| 1:57.2 | which I have also read, I might say, and it's right behind me on my bookshelf. I love that book. I'm such a |
| 2:01.6 | fan of it. And so also highly recommend that. And her most recent book, which we'll be discussing today, |
| 2:07.6 | is titled, Again, Without Fear, Black Women and the Making of Human Rights. And it was just published |
... |
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