Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way (Sourcebooks, 2021)

Please join us on Thursday, June 10, at 5 p.m. Eastern, for a 2021 History Book Festival virtual event with Caseen Gaines, author of Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way (Sourcebooks, 2021). This event is free but registration is required.

About the book
Before Hamilton, before The Wiz, and even before Porgy and Bess, there was Shuffle Along, the all-Black Broadway musical from 1921 that was an enormous success at a time when no one was sure if America was ready for a show featuring nuanced, thoughtful portrayals of Black characters. Footnotes is the story of how composers Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, along with comedians Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, overcame poverty, racism, and violence to harness the energy of the Harlem Renaissance and produce a runaway Broadway hit that launched the careers of many of the 20th century’s most beloved Black performers.

About the author
Caseen Gaines has written for Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and New York magazine. He received an MA from Rutgers in American Studies, focusing on racial representations in popular culture.

How to attend the online event
All registered attendees will receive a follow-up email from “LibCal” with Zoom log-in information. If you don’t receive this email after registering, please check your SPAM folder. If you still can’t locate the email, please contact info@historybookfestival.org.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes. Each copy purchased comes with a signed archival bookplate.

About the Festival
With the help of our presenting sponsors—Delaware Humanities and The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices I Gallo Realty—as well as our community partners and volunteers, the 2021 History Book Festival will, once again, be full of great discussions online with authors of newly published narrative nonfiction and historical fiction.

Our 2021 Festival will follow last year’s format: allowing you to bring history home—and stay safe! We are extremely grateful for the virtual venue and assistance in event promotion provided by the Lewes Public Library, in conjunction with the Delaware Division of Libraries and Sussex County Libraries.