Dr. Keisha N. Blain
New York Times Best-Selling Author & Award-Winning Historian
Dr. Keisha N. Blain
New York Times Best-Selling Author & Award-Winning Historian
Biography
Dr. Keisha N. Blain is one of the most innovative and influential young historians of her generation. Her research and writing examine the dynamics of race, gender and politics in both national and global perspectives. She completed a Ph.D. in History from Princeton University in 2014. She is a Professor of Africana Studies and History at Brown University and the President of the Center for Engaged Scholarship. She is the recipient of a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship.
Dr. Blain is the author of Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom (2018), winner of the First Book Award from the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians and winner of the Darlene Clark Hine Award from the Organization of American Historians. Dr. Blain’s second book Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America (2021) was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and selected as a finalist for the 2022 National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography.
Her newest book, Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights (W.W. Norton, September 2025), is the recipient of the 2026 Lillian Smith Book Award and a 2026 Nautilus Book Awards Gold Winner for Social Change and Social Justice. It was also longlisted for the 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Without Fear explores the long and overlooked history of Black women’s global activism and their central role in shaping the modern human rights movement. Drawing on decades of archival research, Blain offers a sweeping narrative that centers women as architects of justice and freedom struggles across borders—challenging conventional accounts of who drives human rights progress and why.
Dr. Blain is also the editor of five books, including the #1 New York Times Best Seller Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, edited with Ibram X. Kendi (2021). Four Hundred Souls was selected as a finalist for the 2022 Carnegie Medal of Excellence in Nonfiction. Her most recent collection, Wake Up America: Black Women on the Future of Democracy (W.W. Norton, 2024) brings together the voices of major progressive Black women politicians, grassroots activists, and intellectuals to offer critical insights on how we can create a more equitable political future.
Dr. Blain’s writing has been featured in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Nation, Foreign Affairs and more. She frequently offers commentary on international, national, and local media outlets, such as BBC, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and Al Jazeera. She is the recipient of more than a dozen prestigious awards and fellowships, including a Dan David Prize, W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship at Harvard University and fellowships from New America, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Ford Foundation. In 2018, she was appointed to the Organization of American Historians’ Distinguished Lectureship Program. She is a widely sought-after speaker on United States history, African American history, African Diaspora Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies.
A widely sought-after speaker, Dr. Blain engages audiences on U.S. history, African American history, African Diaspora studies, and women’s and gender studies, connecting historical insight to the most pressing issues shaping society today. Through compelling storytelling and rigorous scholarship, she challenges audiences to think critically about the past while reimagining a more just and equitable future. Dr. Keisha N. Blain works in partnership with APB Speakers for speaking engagements worldwide.
Speaker Videos
A New Take on 400 Years of Black History | Amanpour and Company
Race in America: History Matters | The Washington Post
Keisha N. Blain — Wake Up America: Black Women on the Future of Democracy - Panel discussion
Keisha N. Blain: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America
Four Hundred Souls | CBS This Morning
Russia's Decades-Long Involvement in American Racism
Charlotta Bass: Remembering First Black Woman to Run for VP in 1952 | Democracy Now
Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer (w/ Dr. Keisha N. Blain)
Speech Topics
Without Fear: Black Women & the Making of Human Rights
The story of human rights is incomplete without the voices that built it from the margins. Keisha N. Blain redefines this history by centering the leadership, vision, and global impact of Black women. Drawing from her acclaimed book Without Fear, she reveals how figures from Ida B. Wells to contemporary Black Lives Matter activists have shaped the language and practice of human rights, often without access to formal power. Through global travel, the Black press, grassroots organizing, and international advocacy, these women challenged racism and white supremacy at every level. Dr. Blain brings forward both well-known leaders and overlooked voices, offering a powerful, ground-up perspective on how movements for justice are built and sustained. This keynote reframes the past while illuminating how these strategies continue to shape the fight for freedom and dignity today.
Audiences will learn:
How Black women have shaped the global history and practice of human rights
The strategies used to advance justice outside traditional systems of power
Why these lessons remain critical to movements for equity and change today
Rewriting the American Story: Unsung Voices and the Fight for Freedom
Whose stories define a nation and whose have been left out? Keisha N. Blain challenges audiences to reconsider the narratives that shape America’s past and future. Drawing on her acclaimed books Set the World on Fire, Until I Am Free, and Without Fear, she brings forward the often-overlooked leadership of Black women in advancing movements for racial and gender justice. From grassroots organizing to global solidarity efforts, Dr. Blain reveals how transformative change has long been driven by those working outside traditional centers of power. As the nation reflects on its 250-year history, she offers a compelling call to expand our understanding of who shapes democracy and why these stories matter now more than ever.
Audiences will learn:
How overlooked voices have played a central role in shaping American history
Why expanding historical narratives is essential to understanding democracy today
How past movements for justice inform current and future efforts for change
Wake Up America: Black Women on the Future of Democracy
“Wake up, America.” The call issued by Fannie Lou Hamer in 1968 still echoes today and the urgency has only grown. Keisha N. Blain builds on this legacy to examine what it will take to make democracy real for all people. Drawing from her forthcoming work, she explores how Black women have long been at the forefront of movements demanding a more just and equitable political system, even while facing systemic barriers rooted in centuries of discrimination. Dr. Blain connects these historical struggles to today’s most pressing challenges, offering a clear-eyed look at where democracy stands and where it must go. Grounded in history yet focused on action, this keynote provides a roadmap for strengthening civic engagement, expanding political participation, and building a more inclusive future.
Audiences will learn:
Why Black women’s leadership has been central to shaping American democracy
How historical movements inform today’s fight for political equity
Practical steps to strengthen civic participation and democratic engagement
The Significance of Black History: Power, Resistance & the Making of Democracy
Black history is not a side story. It is central to the making of American democracy. Keisha N. Blain traces how generations of Black activists have challenged systems that sought to exclude them and, in doing so, reshaped the nation itself. From grassroots organizers to nationally recognized leaders, these individuals pushed the country closer to its founding ideals through persistence, strategy, and collective action. Dr. Blain highlights the diverse approaches Black communities have used to demand full political participation, revealing a history defined not just by struggle, but by innovation and resilience. This keynote invites audiences to see Black history as essential to understanding both the past and the ongoing work of building a more inclusive democracy.
Audiences will learn:
How Black activism has fundamentally shaped American political rights and democracy
The diverse strategies used to challenge exclusion and expand citizenship
Why understanding this history is critical to advancing equity today
Black Women & the Civil Rights Movement: The Leaders History Overlooked
The Civil Rights Movement cannot be fully understood without the women who sustained and shaped it. Keisha N. Blain brings long-overdue attention to the Black women whose leadership powered one of the most transformative periods in American history. While mainstream narratives often center figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, Dr. Blain highlights the critical work of organizers such as Ella Baker, Diane Nash, Jo Ann Robinson, and Fannie Lou Hamer, women who built movements at the community level and helped carry them onto the national stage. She also examines the barriers they faced within male-dominated spaces and the broader challenges of sexism and marginalization. By connecting these histories to present-day conversations, this keynote offers both recognition and a path forward for addressing ongoing inequities.
Audiences will learn:
The essential role Black women played in shaping and sustaining the Civil Rights Movement
The challenges they faced as leaders within and beyond the movement
How these lessons can inform efforts to confront sexism and inequality today
Testimonials
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