Michelle Duster

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4.8 out of 5

Public Historian, Equity Advocate & Award-Winning Author Known for "Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells"

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Chicago, IL, USA
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Michelle Duster Biography

Michelle Duster is an author, public historian, educator, and champion of racial and gender equity who has worked for over 30 years in various mediums to highlight the positive contributions of women and African Americans to the United States. She has written, edited, or contributed to numerous articles and over 20 books, plus worked on monuments, markers, murals, statues, documentary films, and film festivals -- all to tell stories that have frequently been omitted, skewed or marginalized.

She is determined to help current and future generations be exposed to and inspired by more inclusive and truthful representation. Her most recent books about her great-grandmother Ida B. Wells are the picture book, "Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth" and the adult book "Ida B. the Queen." She also co-edited the anthologies "Impact: Personal Portraits of Activism" and "Michelle Obama’s Impact on African American Women and Girls."

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 05/17/2024.

Michelle Duster Speaking Topics

  • Make an Impact: Lessons from Ida B. Wells and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    The combined lifespans of these two leaders is over one hundred years of struggle for freedom, justice, and racial equality. Their lives overlapped by two years, so one can think that Wells passed the activist baton to King. Although they were two generations apart, they have a lot in common. Michelle Duster highlights the similarities between these two activists and offers suggestions on how today’s leaders can make an impact by adopting some of the strategies used by Wells and King.

  • Ida B. Wells & Today's Street Journalism

    Information included in the mainstream media has historically been told through an overwhelmingly white male lens. As a result, the perspectives and realities of African Americans tend to be overlooked, skewed, or erased. In order to combat this, some have taken initiative to report their own realities. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ida B. Wells took control, countered false narratives, and chronicled the realities of lynchings and riots during her time. A century later, the African American community is still impacted by racial inequality and state-sanctioned violence. Writer, speaker, educator, Michelle Duster, will discuss how her paternal great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells pioneered data journalism and how that tradition contributes to truth and justice.

  • From 1919 Black Awakening to 2021 Black Lives Matter Movement

    In this conversation, centered on her book Ida B the Queen and essay featured in Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America Michelle Duster, author, speaker, and educator will touch on the events leading up to, during, and following the race riots of the Red Summer of 1919. She will explain how the lack of implementation of solutions presented after that summer’s riots are tied to the current social and civil unrest.

  • African American Suffragists and the Struggle for Inclusion

    Even though the suffrage movement was focused on women gaining the right to vote, the battle was mostly fought separately along racial lines. White women shunned and marginalized African American women, which propelled them to form their own groups. Author, speaker, and educator, Michelle Duster explains the racial divisions that her great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells, and other suffragists experienced and how the struggle for African American women to be included extends to today’s struggle for inclusion in the documentation and commemorations of the movement as well as current voting rights.

  • Ida B. Wells and Family Legacy of Determination, Education & Agitation

    Author, speaker and educator, Michelle Duster will discuss the work and legacy of her paternal great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells, and the multi-generational family efforts to make sure her ancestor's contributions to the country are recognized and honored. The author of Ida B the Queen has worked on a PBS documentary film, edited two books that include her ancestor's writing, a Chicago monument, an honorary street name, a public marker, and a major downtown Chicago street. She consults on other national projects that feature her ancestor. In addition, she manages the Ida B. Wells Memorial Foundation which provides college scholarships and supports public history projects that include Ida B. Wells.

    Ida B. Wells lived through violent and lawless times which is explained and discussed. The composition of the audience determines the level of detail and selection of images that will be included.

  • Preserve and Celebrate Your Own History of Family, Community or Institutions

    Author, speaker and educator, Michelle Duster will discuss how it is possible to take control of your own story and document personal, family, community or institutional history. She will discuss what was involved in researching her book Ida B the Queen, but also more personal booklets that she created for family reunions and extensive obituaries that documented and captured detailed information about family members. She explains how various mediums and techniques can be used to document, preserve, and promote history.

Michelle Duster Videos

  • Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells (Full Stream 2/1)
    Ida B. Wells was a suffragist, civil rights activist and pioneering journalist who chronicled the lynching of Black Americans in her reporting. On...
  • P&P Live! Michelle Duster | IDA B. THE QUEEN
    Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore and cultural...
  • How To Change Public Perception with Michelle Duster
    Michelle Duster is an award-winning author, speaker, and educator. Her professional background includes two decades of writing in ...

Michelle Duster Books

  • Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader
    Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader
  • Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells
    Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells
  • Impact: Personal Portraits of Activism
    Impact: Personal Portraits of Activism
  • Tate and His Historic Dream
    Tate and His Historic Dream
  • Shifts: An Anthology of Women's Growth Through Change
    Shifts: An Anthology of Women's Growth Through Change
  • Ida From Abroad
    Ida From Abroad

Speaker Lists Featuring Michelle Duster

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  • What topics does Michelle Duster speak about?

    Michelle Duster is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Authors, Black Heritage, Black History Month, Diversity & Inclusion, Education, Educational Motivational, Literary, Social Activism.
  • Where does Michelle Duster travel from?

    Michelle Duster generally travels from Chicago, IL, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
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Michelle Duster is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Make an Impact: Lessons from Ida B. Wells and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ida B. Wells & Today's Street Journalism , From 1919 Black Awakening to 2021 Black Lives Matter Movement, African American Suffragists and the Struggle for Inclusion, Ida B. Wells and Family Legacy of Determination, Education & Agitation and Preserve and Celebrate Your Own History of Family, Community or Institutions. The estimated speaking fee range to book Michelle Duster for your event is $5,000 - $10,000. Michelle Duster generally travels from Chicago, IL, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Bethaney Wilkinson, Xernona Clayton, Nikki Giovanni, Yoruba Richen and Monica Pearson. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Michelle Duster for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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