Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and New York Times bestselling author, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., speaks on the topic of his forthcoming book, We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For (Harvard University Press, April 2024). In this new book, Glaude makes the case that the hard work of becoming a better person should be a critical feature of Black politics. Through virtuoso interpretations of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Ella Baker, Glaude shows how ordinary people have the capacity to be the heroes that our democracy so desperately requires, rather than outsourcing their needs to leaders who purportedly represent them. Glaude is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Begin Again, a politically astute, lyrical meditation on how ordinary Black Americans can shake off their reliance on a small group of professional politicians and pursue self-cultivation and grassroots movements to achieve a more just and perfect democracy. The Pennington Lecture is presented in honor of the Rev. Dr. James W. C. Pennington and is part of Capital Community College's Black Heritage Project. The project aims to surface the remarkable history of the first Black church and school for Black children in Hartford through an exhibition on Hartford's Black community formation (now on view at the college), curriculum in a variety of courses, and programs such as this. The Pennington Lecture is produced by CT State Capital in partnership with the Wadsworth Atheneum and The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, and in association with Faith Congregational Church.