The Ethics of Now with Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Join the Kenan Institute for Ethics and host Adriane Lentz-Smith for a conversation with historian, author, and “The Gilded Age” historical consultant and co-executive producer Erica Armstrong Dunbar on telling the stories of our nation’s complex past. The Ethics of Nowfeaturing Erica Armstrong DunbarWhat does history look like through the eyes of those whose stories are rarely told? Through her historical writing and work on the HBO series “The Gilded Age,” Erica Armstrong Dunbar offers us portraits of African Americans in the nineteenth century, people as complex and compelling as the times in which they lived. One is the remarkable Ona Judge, who escaped from slavery — and her former owners, George and Martha Washington — when she was twenty years old. Though she lived the rest of her life as a fugitive, Judge was “Never Caught” — despite the Washingtons’ repeated attempts to return her to slavery. On the 250th anniversary of 1776, Dunbar invites us to consider how a fuller narrative of our past enriches the American story — and our present and future as a nation e pluribus unum, or “out of many, one.” Event Details: This event takes place at the Durham County Main Library. Parking is available onsite.

Last updated September 11, 2026