photo by: C-SPAN Cities Tour

C-SPAN producer and video journalist Adrienne McGibbon films in front of the University of Kansas' Memorial Stadium during the network's visit to Lawrence in October 2018.

TV programs about Lawrence’s literary chops and colorful history — including a tour led by a local John Brown impersonator — will make their debut this weekend on C-SPAN.

Lawrence is one of several cities featured on C-SPAN’s Cities Tour, which highlights the history and literary life of cities across the U.S., according to a description on the series’ website.

Mayor Stuart Boley, who will be part of a brief introduction to two segments about Lawrence, said he was happy about the city’s upcoming appearance.

“I really appreciate that C-SPAN came to our town and spent their time here to be able to provide the rest of the country with information about our authors and about our city,” Boley said.

C-SPAN’s Book TV and American History TV crews were in Lawrence in October to film the segments, and the network interviewed local authors and historians and visited sites around the city. The visit also included a tour with local historian and John Brown impersonator Kerry Altenbernd, who has been portraying the famed abolitionist and militant for historical re-enactments and other events for more than a decade.

The history segment includes a visit to the Watkins Museum of History, where director Steve Nowak tells about the founding of Lawrence and its role in the Civil War, according to a news release from C-SPAN. Also included is a visit to the former home of abolitionist Robert Miller with current property owner Dennis Dailey and the tour with Altenbernd. Other stops include the University of Kansas’ Dole Institute of Politics and the Kenneth Spencer Research Library, where curator Becky Schulte highlights items from the Wilcox Collection of contemporary political movements.

Those interviewed as part of the literary segment include authors who have written about topics such as environmental politics and LGBT activism in Kansas, namely Andrew Isenberg, who wrote “The Republican Reversal: Conservatives and the Environment from Nixon to Trump,” and C.J. Janovy, who wrote “No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas.” Also included are interviews with Jennifer Hamer, who wrote “What It Means to Be Daddy: Fatherhood for Black Men Living Away from Their Children”; David Farber, who wrote “Taken Hostage: The Iran Hostage Crisis and America’s First Encounter with Radical Islam”; and Jeffery Moran, who wrote “The Scopes Trial.”

The segments about Lawrence will air on C-SPAN on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, beginning with the introductory segment featuring Boley, the literary segment and the historical segment, according to the release. Once the segments have aired, they will be available on the C-SPAN Cities Tour website, along with the segments from other cities across the country, such as New Orleans, Denver and Cincinnati. The tour previously stopped in other Kansas cities, including Topeka in 2015 and Wichita in 2012.

The introductory segment with Boley will air Friday as part of C-SPAN’s Washington Journal program between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., according to the release. The literary segment will air Saturday, with all the author interviews airing together in one block beginning at 11 a.m. on Book TV on C-SPAN2. The history segment will air Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. on American History TV on C-SPAN3.

C-SPAN Cities Tour on Twitter

C-SPAN Cities Tour on Twitter

C-SPAN Cities Tour on Twitter

C-SPAN Cities Tour on Twitter

C-SPAN Cities Tour on Twitter

C-SPAN Cities Tour on Twitter