A conversation with Brian Lamb and Edna Greene Medford

Edna Greene Medford Download image

C-SPAN founder and Edna Greene Medford of Howard University to discuss African American history, US Presidents, the Civil War and Reconstruction

Edna Greene Medford, vice president of the Abraham Lincoln Institute and professor emeritus at Howard University, will be the featured guest for the CCSE Conversation with Brian Lamb. 

The CCSE Conversation with Brian Lamb, hosted by the Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement and the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Purdue, will take place on April 5 in Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the talk will begin at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

During this hourlong talk, C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb and Medford will explore thought-provoking insights on African American history, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and U.S. presidents including Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. Medford also will share from her upcoming book, “TRAIL: An African American Family’s Generational Pursuit of Justice and Equality in the Nineteenth Century,” which uncovers the struggles and triumphs of William Trail as he escaped enslavement in the South and navigated the judicial system to find freedom in Indiana. 

Medford, widely regarded as a leading expert on African American history, President Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War and Reconstruction, has regularly appeared on C-SPAN and been featured in several documentaries, including the recent History Channel series “Abraham Lincoln.” During her 35 years as a professor of history at Howard University, Medford served as associate provost of faculty affairs, interim dean of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, chair of the Department of History, and the Department of History’s director of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs. She was also awarded the Distinguished Faculty Medal in 2021.

In addition to her work at Howard University, Medford has written and edited numerous books, articles and book chapters. Medford is vice president of the Abraham Lincoln Institute and a member of the Lincoln Forum’s executive committee. She previously served as director of history for New York's African American Burial Ground. In recognition of her scholarship on President Lincoln, the state of Illinois awarded Medford the Order of Lincoln.

This CCSE Conversation with Brian Lamb is sponsored by the Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement, Brian Lamb School of Communication, and Purdue’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.

For more information visit https://bit.ly/Conversation2023 or contact Andrea Langrish, managing director, Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement at centerforcspan@purdue.edu.