Dr. Ibram X. Kendi — Chain of Ideas: Origins of Our Authoritarian Age
Leading antiracist scholar examines how 'great replacement theory' has ushered in an antidemocratic age, while offering hope for how we can free ourselves.
Why we picked this
Critical thinker traces the intellectual genealogy of contemporary threats to democracy on opening day of the Chicago Humanities Festival.
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi opens the 2026 Chicago Humanities Festival with a talk that traces a specific intellectual lineage: how “great replacement theory” moved from the fringes to the mainstream, and what that migration tells us about the structural vulnerabilities of democratic societies.
Kendi’s work has always been about tracing ideas to their origins — understanding not just what people believe but why those beliefs persist and who benefits from them. This lecture promises to be both historical analysis and urgent present-tense diagnosis. The Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport sets the stage for what should be one of the festival’s headline events.