Peggy Wallace Kennedy - The Broken Road
Wednesday, Dec 04, 2019 7:00 PM
Location:
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library
441 John Lewis Freedom Parkway NE, Atlanta, GA 30307
For readers of "White Rage," a memoir about Peggy Wallace Kennedy’s struggle with her father George Wallace’s legacy of governing by fear and hate.
Kennedy will be in conversation with Hank Klibanoff, veteran journalist, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and host of the Peabody Award-winning podcast "Buried Truths."
About the Book
Peggy Wallace Kennedy, seen as the “symbol of racial reconciliation” (The Washington Post), is the daughter of one of America’s most virulent segregationists, former governor of Alabama and presidential candidate George Wallace. Wallace was notorious for his hateful rhetoric and his political stunts, such as standing in front of the entrance to the University of Alabama to prevent black students from entering. But he was also a larger-than-life father to young Peggy, who was taught to smile, sit straight, and not speak up as her father took to the political stage. At the end of his life, Wallace came to renounce his views, and Peggy had a political awakening after which she dedicated much of her own life to attempting to repair some of the damage he caused.
In this powerful new memoir, Peggy looks back on the politics of her youth and attempts to reconcile her adored father with the man who coined the phrase “Segregation now. Segregation tomorrow. Segregation forever.”
Timely and timeless, "The Broken Road" speaks to change, atonement, activism, and racial reconciliation.
About the Author
Peggy Wallace Kennedy is a nationally recognized speaker, lecturer, and writer. Her father and mother, George and Lurleen Wallace, were both governors of Alabama. She has been honored by, among others, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, MLK Commission, and Emmett Till Legacy Foundation and has received the Women of Courage, Human Rights, and Rosa Parks Legacy Awards. Her dedication to racial reconciliation offers hope for change in a divided America. She lives in Montgomery, AL.
