A talk by author Catherine Fletcher
With an introduction by Mario Valdes
The story of Alessandro de’ Medici’s rise and fall is the stuff of legend and myth. The natural son of Lorenzo II (or possibly Pope Clement VII) by a black servant or slave woman, he became Duke of Florence at the age of 19. Historian Dr. Catherine Fletcher of Swansea University in the UK tells the tale of his spectacular rise and fall in the first complete account on the subject. With an introduction by Mario Valdes, a former researcher with the PBS series Frontline responsible for the most comprehensive website on Alessandro’s ethnic origins and their sociopolitical implications.
Cosponsored by the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research