Theo E.J. Wilson of Denver, Colo. kicked off this year’s Monadnock Summer Lyceum series Sunday at the Peterborough Unitarian Church with a speech titled “From Enemies to Enlightenment: The Hidden Gift Within Racial Tension.”
Wilson shared his life’s story as a Black man in America, fighting against police brutality and systemic racism while standing on a pedestal overlooking 200 community members.
In 2003, Wilson was handcuffed to a chair and beaten by Denver Police. Left with unanswered questions throughout his life, Wilson sought for solutions through social media by infiltrating a white supremacy group under the alias Lucius25.
In 2017, Wilson hosted a TedTalk titled “A Black Man Goes Undercover in the Alt-Right” illustrating his undercover experience. The video went instantly viral, accumulating more than 3 million views.
After learning more about the nation’s rising racial tension online, Wilson wrote his first book in 2017, titled “The Law of Action: Master Key to the Universe We Actually Live In.” The novel argues for action and discusses Wilson’s experience in the fight for social justice.
Wilson said his traumatic experiences give him a platform to tell his story.
“It feels like I have a purpose,” said Wilson. “One of the things that makes life difficult is you don’t know why you’ve been through something. I just tell myself this is the why. They didn’t kill me while they had the chance. I feel like I got to make the most of the chances given to me. I can’t waste it.”
Wilson also said having conversations about racial tension can positively impact the community.
“We can pay that forward and transform that bad moment into something good for a whole lot of other people,” said Wilson.
Abiel Abbot hosted the first lyceum series back in 1828 at the Peterborough Unitarian Church, and the event was revived in 1970. More than 50 years later, the lyceums still look to challenge social norms, discuss current issues in the community and provide a platform for activists to speak. After a hiatus due to COVID-19, the lyceum series is back to its old glory.
Chair of the Lyceum Committee Bob Haring-Smith said Wilson was the right person to start this year’s series.
“We thought that Theo’s experience online undercover and the thoughts that grew out of that would be well worth hearing,” he said.
Smith said that Wilson’s discussion about racial tension can be uncomfortable to talk about, but are important nevertheless.
“We are not going to learn by hearing only from people that we already know we agree with,” he said. “We are bringing in speakers who will be thought-provoking.”
The Monadnock Summer Lyceum will be hosting seven more events this season related to current issues. Robert Goodby will be the next guest speaker on July 3 at 11 a.m. to discuss “A Deep and Enduring Presence: Using Archaelogy to Write Native American History.” Admission is free and open to the public.