PBS Books, in partnership with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), is pleased to interview Dr. Randal Maurice Jelks, author of “Letters to Martin: Meditations on Democracy in Black America”. His book contains 12 meditations on contemporary political struggles for our society. The moderator of the conversation will be Venise Wagner.

Written in the form of letters to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jelks will provide insights his work that speaks specifically to the many public issues we presently confront in the United States—economic inequality, freedom of assembly, police brutality, ongoing social class conflicts and geopolitics. Award-winning author Jelks invites readers to reflect on US history by centering on questions of democracy that we must grapple with as a society.