Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” As daughters, Betty Kilby Baldwin and Phoebe Kilby found a way to live Dr. King’s dream. They will tell you their stories of discovering their family connections and embarking on a path toward reconciliation and reparation. The class will draw on lessons from their 2021 book, Cousins: Connected Through Slavery, A Black woman and a White woman discover their past — and each other.

Instructors:
Dr. Betty Kilby Fisher Baldwin grew up in rural Virginia. Thanks to her father’s determination, she entered and graduated from Warren County High School after suing the school board, based on the landmark Supreme Court Brown vs. Board of Education decision of 1954. Later in life, she documented her experiences in her autobiography, Wit, Will & Walls. Betty has an MBA and an honorary doctorate from Shenandoah University.

Phoebe Kilby grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. After obtaining a B.S. in botany and a master's in environmental management from Duke University, she had an extensive career as an environmental planner. Later, Phoebe went back to school to obtain a degree in conflict transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. Discovering in 2006 that she was a descendent of enslavers, she was inspired by Coming to the Table.