She stood next to history with her late husband, Derek Bell, the one-time dean of the law school at the University of Oregon and a pioneer of critical race theory. Yet Janet Dewart Bell (she reportedly proposed to him and they were married in 1992) has her own legacy to stand on. Janet Bell’s teaching and advocacy career has canvassed the world and covered many mediums, from Emmy and Peabody awards to work with the Urban League and the AFL-CIO as well as academic posts. And she’s an author. Her book, the critically acclaimed Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement, was published in 2018 and is now in paperback. She will speak on Sunday about the book, an authentic and detailed look at nine women who served the civil rights movement in challenging times and sometimes at great cost.

Janet Dewart Bell, author of Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement, will speak at 4 pm on Sunday, Feb. 9 at Tsunami Books, 2585 Willamette Street. The event is co-sponsored by Tsunami Books and Eugene Weekly. FREE.