Nearly 200 years ago, Peterborough residents debated abolition in the 1840s in the same building where Tom Weiner and Amilcar Shabazz discussed their presentation, “Listen to the Abolitionists,” for the weekly Monadnock Summer Lyceum on Sunday.

The Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church welcomed Tom Weiner, a writer and educator from Northampton, Mass., and Amilcar Shabazz, a professor in the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Weiner and Shabazz discussed their recently published book, “Defiance: 20 Abolitionists You Were Never Taught in School.”

As the final presentation on their 15-month book tour, Weiner and Shabazz said they were happy to end in Peterborough.

Throughout the discussion, both Weiner and Shabazz stressed the power of false narratives driving racism and bigotry. They tied the work and bravery of the past abolitionists to the current issues America continues to face.

“In virtually every instance of enslavement and colonialism, the false narrative schemes of violence has held, and tragedy still holds in churches and schools and governments, in healthcare, in jobs,” Weiner said.

He told the audience to learn from the courage of past abolitionists and apply it to their own form of defiance.

“Listen to our ancestors,” Shabazz said.

Their book focuses on 20 abolitionists, including five Black men, five Black women, five white men and five white women, and they said they did this on purpose. While none of the abolitionists are perfect and each has their own flaws, the authors said we have something to learn from all of them.

“We can make that the norm we want to celebrate as our southern history, and I say, American history and heritage and culture,” Weiner said.

Weiner and Shabazz called for everyone to stand up to local representatives attempting to change history and limit education, referencing the “Countering Hate and Revolutionary Leftist Indoctrination in Education Act,” known as the “CHARLIE Act.” When asked how to follow in the steps of the brave abolitionists, Weiner told the group to vote.

“Vote! And tell everybody you know to vote,” he said.

Even though the CHARLIE Act, which attempted to restrict teachers from teaching about LGBTQ+ and critical race theory, did not pass, the speakers said the fight is far from over.

Shabazz pointed out another form of resistance by referencing the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire.

“Bring those stories out. Celebrate them,” he said.

Sandy Lafleur said she tries to attend every Lyceum event throughout the summer to stay intellectually stimulated.

“I love the diversity of speakers that are here,” she said.

Lafleur said she learned a lot from the discussion and questioned whether “bravery breeds bravery.”

Gary Neilson also attends almost all the Lyceum events. After the talk, he said the notion of a false narrative stayed with him. Referencing the current political climate, he said, “We have to find a way back … and celebrate those people in our own times.”

To view the full discussion, go to the Monadnock Lyceum website at https://www.monadnocklyceum.org/tom-weiner-and-dr-almicar-shabazz.

The next Monadnock Summer Lyceum speakers are Village Harmony on July 19 at 10:30 a.m. at the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church. Village Harmony is a nonprofit based in Vermont that promotes the study and performance of global ethnic singing traditions. They will present “Songs of the World: Voices in Harmony” and will also perform.

The event will be moderated by Marybeth Hallinan and will follow with a question-and-answer session and reception.