After the 4th of July, Begin the World Over: A Listening Party and Alternative Future Building Conversation with Kung Li Sun & Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson

Join organizer and author, Kung Li Sun, for a listening party and conversation in celebration of the release of the audiobook of their alternative history novel, Begin the World Over. Kung Li will be joined in conversation by Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson.

The day after the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, come together with activists and fellow visionaries to explore the possibilities of the 5th of July. What comes after the United States of America as we have known it? What stories and histories can we tell about the past so that we can build the futures that will allow everyone to thrive? What lingering stories must be released so that we can all be more free?

You do not have to have read the novel to join in the listening party and conversation.

About the Book

A revolutionary tale of Black and Indigenous insurrection. History as it should have been.

Begin the World Over is a counterfactual novel about the Founders’ greatest fear–that Black and Indigenous people might join forces to undo the newly formed United States of America–coming true.

In 1793, as revolutionaries in the West Indies take up arms, James Hemings has little interest in joining the fight for libert –talented and favored, he is careful to protect his relative comforts as Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved chef. But when he meets Denmark Vesey, James is immediately smitten. The formidable first mate persuades James to board his ship, on its way to the revolt in Saint-Domingue. There and on the mainland they join forces with a diverse cast of characters, including a gender nonconforming prophetess, a formerly enslaved jockey, and a Muskogee horse trader. The resulting adventure masterfully mixes real historical figures and events with a riotous retelling of a possible history in which James must decide whether to return to his constrained but composed former life, or join the coalition of Black revolutionaries and Muskogee resistance to fight the American slavers and settlers.

About the Author

Kung Li Sun is a lifelong southerner raised in an immigrant family and currently based on the Gulf Coast. As a public interest attorney, she brought class-action lawsuits on behalf of people in prisons and jails. Sun left lawyering to support undocumented and abolitionist organizers as a strategist and trainer, and to write. Their first novel, Begin the World Over, was published by AK Press in 2022 and is part of the Emergent Strategy series.

About the Conversation Partner

Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson is an Affrilachian (Black Appalachian) woman from the working class, born and raised in Southeast Tennessee. She is the first Black woman to serve as Co-Executive Director of the Highlander Research & Education Center in New Market, TN. As a member of multiple leadership teams in the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), Ash-Lee has thrown down on the Vision for Black Lives and the BREATHE Act. Ash-Lee has served on the governance council of the Southern Movement Assembly, the advisory committee of the National Bailout Collective, and is an active leader of The Frontline. She is a long-time activist who has done work in movements fighting for workers, for reproductive justice, for LGBTQUIA+ folks, for environmental justice, and more.

The event is free and open to all people, but we encourage and appreciate a donation of $5-20 in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Donate on Crowdcast or via our website: www.chariscircle.org/donate or in person at the event.

Charis Books is a fully wheelchair accessible space with on site van accessible parking, two ramps, and additional overflow accessible parking nearby. Additional accessibility information can be found on the Accessibility page of our website.

Please read the event guidelines at the bottom of this page to be sure you can participate in the event.

Event guidelines:
– All attendees must wear a face mask during the event.
– We will begin seating people at 6:00 PM ET.
– As a reminder: If you are not feeling well, please do not come to the event.

If you have any questions regarding these guidelines or to request specific accessibility accommodations, please contact info@charisbooksandmore.com or call the store at 404-524-0304.

Please contact us at info@chariscircle.org or 404-524-0304 if you would like ASL interpretation at this event. If you would like to watch the event with live AI captions, you may do so by watching it in Google Chrome and enabling captions: Instructions here. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don’t hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org.

By attending our event, you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Unsolicited sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to Charis staff immediately or email info@chariscircle.org.