A Discussion with Author Aran Shetterly

All alumni, friends, and families are invited to join UVA Clubs for a riveting discussion on Aran Shetterly's book, Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul. This conversation will be moderated by UVA professor Dr. Justene Hill Edwards, Assistant Professor of History.

Using the power of narrative nonfiction to connect a local tragedy to the currents of national politics, Aran Shetterly explores how bearing witness to the traumas and injustices of the past creates opportunities to repair and restore faith in our democratic institutions, in our communities, and in our fellow citizens.

As the author of the acclaimed history MORNINGSIDE, a gripping account of the 1979 Greensboro Massacre, Aran shows how the “slow activists,” working urgently for future generations, eventually helped an all-American town acknowledge and reckon with a fatal failure to protect its own citizens. Our conversation will center around: How do we keep the faith when our leaders and institutions betray our trust?

We hope you'll join us for an engaging discussion!

About Aran Shetterly:

Journalist and narrative historian Aran Shetterly has spent decades writing about people who dream of changing the world, and who have the conviction and courage to try. His latest book "MORNINGSIDE: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul" has been called “brilliant” (Publisher’s Weekly), “essential” (Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow), and “revealing” (Dr. Reverend William Barber II). Aran has worked as an independent editor and writing coach at Aspen Words, and since 2003, he’s collaborated with the Maine-based arts and education organization Americans Who Tell the Truth. He grew up in rural Maine, studied English Literature and Spanish Language and Culture at Harvard College, and earned an MA in American and New England Studies from the University of Southern Maine. He lives in Charlottesville with his son Giles and UVA-grad wife, Margot Lee Shetterly, author of Hidden Figures.

This is an online event; the Zoom link to join us will be sent via email before the event.

If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Joshua Stuart (Col '18, M.Ed '22), Senior Associate Director, UVA Clubs Global Network, at jcs2wv@virginia.edu.