Prominent civil rights activist Ben Jealous returns to his alma mater for a discussion on his latest book.

Agata Popęda here, noting that civil rights activist Ben Jealous will be in town Thursday, May 8. This ’90 York School alumnus is returning to his alma mater by invitation of York’s Black Student Union. The event is free and open to the public at 6pm in the Gawain Family Outdoor Theater at York School. 

“This will be an incredible opportunity for our students to engage directly with him about the themes and experiences shared in his writing,” says York humanities teacher and the BSU's adviser, Dan Gurska.

As part of their preparation for the event, the BSU students have been reading Jealous’ 2023 book, Never Forget Our People Were Always Free, and will host a student-led panel discussion with the author.

Born in Carmel (his parents still live in Pacific Grove), Jealous went to Columbia University and Oxford. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in Maryland (one side of the family lives in Baltimore where he would spend summers), and between 2008 and 2013 he served as the head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Now, he is the executive director of the Sierra Club and lives in California. 

Never Forget Our People Were Always Free is his third book, inspired by the stories of his Black grandmother (Jealous is biracial). 

The book’s title comes from an old family saying that survived, it seems, through the generations, and was used by many ancestors in Jealous’ family. It refers to an idea that racism can be overcome by understanding history. By mixing together for centuries, life makes us all cousins—Jealous, for example, found out that he is a descendant of confederacy icon Robert E. Lee.

Come listen to Jealous’ reflections and students’ questions this Thursday. Or pick up a book—online and in bookstores.