Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eugene Robinson, one of the nation’s most prominent commentators on politics, race and American democracy, will speak at Trinity University in San Antonio as part of its Maverick Lecture Series.
Robinson will present “Freedom Lost, Freedom Won: A Personal History of America” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, in the Stieren Theater at Trinity’s Ruth Taylor Fine Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.
The lecture shares its title with Robinson’s latest book, "Freedom Lost, Freedom Won." In the book Robinson tells the larger story of America’s struggle over race and citizenship through more than two centuries of his own family’s history.
The narrative begins with Robinson’s great-great-grandfather, Henry, an enslaved blacksmith who purchased his freedom in Charleston in 1851. It follows later generations through emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the civil rights movement and the election of Barack Obama. Robinson argues that racial progress in the United States has rarely followed a straight line; advances have repeatedly been followed by resistance and retrenchment.
Robinson grew up in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and was a teenager when police opened fire on Black demonstrators at South Carolina State College in 1968, killing three people in what became known as the Orangeburg Massacre. He has said that experience helped shape his decision to become a journalist.
During a career spanning more than four decades at The Washington Post, Robinson worked as a reporter, foreign correspondent, editor and opinion columnist. He received the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for columns about Barack Obama’s historic presidential campaign. Robinson left the Post in 2025 and has continued working as a television political analyst.
The Maverick Lecture honors Maury Maverick Jr., the San Antonio civil-rights lawyer, former Texas legislator and newspaper columnist. The series focuses on free speech, racial and economic justice, war and civic courage.
Guest:
Eugene Robinson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. He latest book is “Freedom Lost, Freedom Won: A Personal History of America.”
"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255 or email thesource@tpr.org.
This interview will be recorded live on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at 12:30 p.m.
