P&P Live!: Edward Ball – Life of a Klansman: A Family History in White Supremacy – In Conversation with Ibram X. Kendi

Life of a Klansman tells the story of a warrior in the Ku Klux Klan, a carpenter in Louisiana who took up the cause of fanatical racism during the years after the Civil War. Edward Ball, a descendant of the Klansman, paints a portrait of his family’s anti-black militant that is part history, part memoir rich in personal detail. In an era when racist ideology and violence are again loose in the public square, Life of a Klansman offers a personal origin story of white supremacy. Ball’s family memoir traces the vines that have grown from militant roots in the Old South into the bitter fruit of the present, when whiteness is again a cause that can veer into hate and domestic terror.

Edward Ball is the author of works of nonfiction including Slaves in the Family, which won the National Book Award.

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is a New York Times bestselling author and the founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University. A professor of history and international relations and a frequent public speaker, Kendi is a columnist at The Atlantic. He is the author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and The Black Campus Movement, which won the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize.

Instead of a set ticket price, we ask that you contribute what you can to support Politics and Prose Bookstore and our virtual event series. We know that everyone has been affected in these trying times, and we will continue to make our programming accessible to all. That said, a suggested contribution of $5, $10, whatever you can afford, will go a long way to keep our programming—and our bookstore—afloat as we are forced to adapt to new ways of business. 

The other way you can support us is always by purchasing a copy of the book from our website.

We are so grateful to be surrounded by such a loyal and engaged community and we thank you for your support, now and always.











When: Tue., Aug. 4, 2020 at 6:00 pm

Life of a Klansman tells the story of a warrior in the Ku Klux Klan, a carpenter in Louisiana who took up the cause of fanatical racism during the years after the Civil War. Edward Ball, a descendant of the Klansman, paints a portrait of his family’s anti-black militant that is part history, part memoir rich in personal detail. In an era when racist ideology and violence are again loose in the public square, Life of a Klansman offers a personal origin story of white supremacy. Ball’s family memoir traces the vines that have grown from militant roots in the Old South into the bitter fruit of the present, when whiteness is again a cause that can veer into hate and domestic terror.

Edward Ball is the author of works of nonfiction including Slaves in the Family, which won the National Book Award.

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is a New York Times bestselling author and the founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University. A professor of history and international relations and a frequent public speaker, Kendi is a columnist at The Atlantic. He is the author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and The Black Campus Movement, which won the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize.

Instead of a set ticket price, we ask that you contribute what you can to support Politics and Prose Bookstore and our virtual event series. We know that everyone has been affected in these trying times, and we will continue to make our programming accessible to all. That said, a suggested contribution of $5, $10, whatever you can afford, will go a long way to keep our programming—and our bookstore—afloat as we are forced to adapt to new ways of business. 

The other way you can support us is always by purchasing a copy of the book from our website.

We are so grateful to be surrounded by such a loyal and engaged community and we thank you for your support, now and always.

Buy tickets/get more info now