Monday, November 17, 2025, from 5:30 – 7:00pm
Madison Central Public Library, Rm 301 & 302 (201 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703)
Join us for “The National Legacy of Slavery: Wisconsin’s History as a Mississippi River State”! In collaboration with Madison Public Library, the Go Big Read program is hosting a panel to explore Wisconsin’s history as a state along the Mississippi River. In particular, the panel will interrogate Wisconsin’s history related to slavery. The enslavement of African and African American people is not just a regional legacy within the United States–it is a national legacy. During this panel, we will examine Wisconsin’s culpability in the nation’s history of slavery as well as opposition and support among Wisconsinites for the institutions of slavery. Moreover, we will discuss how the 2025-2026 Go Big Read, James, is in conversation with Wisconsin’s history.
Please email the UW-Madison Go Big Read Coordinator (bwillig@wisc.edu) with accommodation requestions or questions.