We were honored to have Dr. Jackie Irvine and Karen Branan as guest speakers at our virtual LSP meeting on Zoom, Monday June 8 at 5:00 pm CST. Dr. Jacqueline Jordan Irvine is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Urban Education Emerita at Emory University and the author of numerous books and the recipient of countless awards.
Karen Branan is the author of The Family Tree: A Lynching in Georgia, A Legacy of Secrets, and My Search for the Truth,, published by Simon & Schuster in 2016. A graduate of the U. of Georgia, she has taught at all grade levels and has been a freelance reporter for over 50 years. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Life Magazine, The Guardian, Ms. Magazine, Mother Jones, Christian Science Monitor, Mpls. Star & Tribune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Learning, Scholastic Teacher and others. Her documentaries and news reports have been broadcast on PBS, CBC, CNN, BBC, CBS, and ABC.
Dr. Jackie Irvine and Karen Branan met four years ago when Jackie read "The Family Tree" and discovered a relative and a lynching she'd never heard of. John Moore was lynched in Harris County, GA, in 1912, by Karen's ancestors (and Jackie's, as it turns out). They are cousins who have built a strong friendship and who speak together to heal the harms of past and present injustices.
Read more about Dr. Jackie Irvine and Karen Branan in this New York Times article.