Adams Speaker Series:
250th Anniversary of Abigail Adams “Remember the Ladies” Letter
The Adams Presidential Center recently hosted an engaging and thought-provoking conversation with distinguished panelists, Liz Covart, Ph.D and Diana Carlin Ph.D, which explored and celebrated Abigail Adams and the enduring legacy of her remarkable letter from 1776.
Distinguished Panelists
Liz Covart, Ph.D
An award-winning historian of the American Revolution, and the creator and host of the award-winning podcast, Ben Franklin’s World. Liz’s digital work attempts to lessen the polarization of American political and cultural communities by building a shared community interest in early American history. Her traditional scholarship informs my digital work by investigating how early Americans embraced cultural and political diversity to form local, regional, and national communities. To learn more about Liz, visit her website.
Diana Carlin, Ph.D
Professor Emerita of Communication at Saint Louis University; Founding Member of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE)
Diana B. Carlin is professor emerita of communication at Saint Louis University and a retired faculty member and administrator at the University of Kansas. She taught courses on first ladies at both universities. She is currently an adjunct in the School of Public Affairs at American University where she teaches a virtual course on first ladies. Her interest in first ladies began with a biography of Abigail Adams while in elementary school. She is the author of book chapters Martha Washington, Julia Grant, Lady Bird Johnson, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama.
She is the co-author with Anita B. McBride and Nancy Kegan Smith of the first textbook on first ladies, U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies and Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women. She authored articles for the White House History Quarterly on first ladies and Sesame Street in the White House and on The Generals’ Wives: Martha Washington, Julia Grant, and Mamie Eisenhower. She teaches a variety of Osher Lifelong Learning classes on first ladiesand has given several newspaper and radio interviews on first ladies. She is a founding member of FLARE—First Ladies Association for Research and Education and currently serves as vice president.
DR. KURT GRAHAM
PRESIDENT OF ADAMS PRESIDENTIAL CENTER - EVENT MODERATOR
Kurt Graham is the inaugural president of the Adams Presidential Center in Quincy, Massachusetts. Previously, he served as the director of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. As director, he oversaw a $30M renovation of the principal museum exhibits and dramatically expanded the Library’s educational and public programming. He has also directed the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, and the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City.