26th Annual Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium

Daniella Ignacio Announcement
Location
District of Columbia, United States
Subject Fields
American History / Studies, African American History / Studies, Political History / Studies, Historic Preservation, History Education

Media Contact: Daniella Ignacio
Communications Manager
(202) 434-9533 or dignacio@fords.org / press@fords.org

Ford’s Theatre
511 Tenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004
www.fords.org


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2023

Ford’s Theatre Society and the Abraham Lincoln Institute Present the 2023 Speakers for the Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium

Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tickets Available Now

Washington, D.C. – After virtual symposiums from 2020-2022, Ford’s Theatre Society and the Abraham Lincoln Institute proudly present the return of the Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium (ALI) on March 25, 2023 at Ford’s Theatre. In the 2023 symposium, noted authors and historians Terry Alford, Fred L. Hord, David J. Kent, Jon Meacham and Diana Schaub will discuss aspects of our 16th president’s history.

This free full-day symposium is focused on the life, career and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln. This event is free and open to the public. Advance registration for tickets is encouraged and available now through March 25, 2023. Day-of tickets will be available on March 25 on a first-come, first-served basis. The speakers will discuss their most recent works on Abraham Lincoln:

  • Terry Alford, In The Houses of Their Dead: The Lincolns, the Booths, and the SpiritsLearn more.
  • Fred L. Hord, Knowing Him by Heart: African Americans on Abraham Lincoln. Learn more.
  • David J. Kent, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln's Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America. Learn more
  • Jon Meacham, And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle. Learn more.
  • Diana Schaub, His Greatest Speeches: How Lincoln Moved the Nation. Learn more.

Reserve your tickets now on the Ford’s Theatre website and plan out your day of enlightening conversa-tions, book signings and exploration of Lincolnian history with our esteemed guests! Each discussion will conclude with audience questions. Authors will sign books in the Ford’s Theatre lobby. Books will be available for purchase at the Ford’s Theatre Gift Shop on the day of the symposium.

Every year, Ford’s Theatre Society and the Abraham Lincoln Institute collaborate to celebrate and explore the latest in Abraham Lincoln scholarship. To learn more, please visit www.fords.org/event/abraham-lincoln-institute-symposium.

About The Authors

Terry Alford is an author and historian. He received a Ph.D. in history from Mississippi State University and did post-doctoral work in family history at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Alford is a founding board member of the Abraham Lincoln Institute and is a recognized authority on John Wilkes Booth and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. His latest book is In the Houses of their Dead: The Lincolns, the Booths, and the Spirits, published in 2022 to strongly positive reviews. David Adams in Publishers Weekly called it “enthralling…packed with eerie coincidences, amusing anecdotes, momentous twists of fate, and everyday human drama.” Dr. Alford received the Outstanding Faculty of Virginia Award from the State Council on Higher Education — the highest teaching honor given to college and university fac-ulty in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Fred L. Hord, Ph.D. is an Emeritus Full Professor and former Chair of Africana Studies at Knox College. He began his Knox journey in the English Department. He’s de veloped over 30 courses in Black History and Culture for Africana Studies since 1988. The AFST courses are cross listed with departments in English, History, Education, Economics, Theatre, Art, Gender and Women’s Studies and Social Justice. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the National Association for Black Culture Centers. He has authored, co authored and edited 10 books in areas of history, literature, philosophy, Black culture centers and poetry. He’s currently working on a book about Frederick Douglass on Lincoln. Dr. Hord has published several articles and poems in journals and made numerous presentations at colleges and in local communities. Hord is also a member of the Gwendolyn Brooks International Black Writers Hall of Fame.

David J. Kent is a historian, a former career scientist and the current president of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. He is also on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Abraham Lincoln Institute and the Board of Advisors of The Lincoln Forum. He has won awards both for his scientific work and as an Abraham Lincoln historian. As Lincoln Group President, in November 2022 he accepted the prestigious Wendy Allen Award from The Lincoln Forum for the group’s long history of contributions to Lincoln scholarship. He has written several books, including Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America and books on Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. His newest book, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, examines Lincoln’s commitment to science and technology.

Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize winning biographer, the Rogers Chair in the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University and a fellow of the Society of American Historians. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, American Gospel and Franklin and Winston. Meacham lives in Nashville.

Diana Schaub is a Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Maryland and a non resident Senior Scholar in the Social, Cultural and Constitutional Studies department at the American Enterprise Institute. She was the Garwood Teaching Fellow at Princeton University in 2011 12 and Visiting Professor of Political Theory in the Government Department at Harvard University in 2018, 2020 and 2022. She is the author of a book on Montesquieu, along with many scholarly articles in political philosophy and American political thought. She is a coeditor (with Amy and Leon Kass) of What So Proudly We Hail: The American Soul in Story, Speech, and Song. A member of the Board of Directors of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, she also sits on the publication committee of National Affairs. Her book on Lincoln’s rhetoric and statesmanship, His Greatest Speeches: How Lincoln Moved the Nation appeared in 2021 from St. Martin’s Press.

About Ford’s Theatre Society

A working theatre, historical monument, world class museum and learning center, Ford’s Theatre is the premier destination in Washington, D.C., to explore and celebrate the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. The site of Abraham Lincoln’ s assassination, Ford ’s Theatre offers visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in America’s past while revealing meaningful connections to today. For more information on Ford’s Theatre and the Ford’s Theatre Society, please visit www.fords.org. 

About the Abraham Lincoln Institute

The Abraham Lincoln Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting scholarship on the life, times, and legacy of Abraham Lincoln through a free annual symposium, book and dissertation prizes, and a lifetime achievement award. For more information on the Abraham Lincoln Institute, please visit https://lincoln-institute.org/.


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Contact Information

Media Contact: Daniella Ignacio
Communications Manager, Ford's Theatre
(202) 434-9533 or dignacio@fords.org / press@fords.org

Contact Email
press@fords.org