Home Moorestown News The Moorestown Library celebrates Black History Month

The Moorestown Library celebrates Black History Month

Lineup of events includes presentations and film discussions.

Special to The Sun: Dr. Daisy Century portrays activist Sojourner Truth in the Moorestown Library’s presentation of “A Virtual Visit with Sojourner Truth” on Feb. 12.

It’s Black History Month and the Moorestown Library has many ways for you to celebrate, explore and learn something new. In addition to book displays throughout the library featuring books, movies and graphic novels for all ages, the library is offering an exciting lineup of events to keep the discussion going all month long.

In the children’s room, the Friends of the Library are sponsoring a take home craft to get even the smallest citizens into the spirit of Black History Month.

Rosa Parks became a civil rights icon when she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus in 1955. Children and caregivers are invited to pick up a craft to make your own bus craft with a sign that says, “Thank you Rosa Parks!”

Follow it up by logging onto the kid’s page at MoorestownLibrary.org/Kids and visiting the library’s collection of Scholastic Storybook videos available on BookFlix. There you can watch and read along with “Do Unto Otters” and “We Are Citizens” for fun lessons in treating everyone with kindness and respect. Crafts are available while supplies last.

When it comes to crafts, why should kids have all the fun? Adults can take a hands-on approach to Black history by picking up a Kente paper weaving kit at the reference desk. Kente cloth dates back over 400 years to West Africa, in what is now Ghana. Its popularity has grown globally and now Kente cloth is widely available as a symbol of Africa for people of African descent. Try your hand at replicating these intricate and bold patterns through paper weaving, while supplies last.

Get up close and personal with a giant of history in the presentation “A Virtual Visit with Sojourner Truth” on Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. Isabella Baumfree, having been promised freedom but then cruelly denied emancipation, left her owners, became a devout Christian and renamed herself Sojourner Truth.

Dr. Daisy Century gives a commanding performance as Truth, bringing to life a woman undeterred by incredible obstacles and who mixed with the leading figures of her day, including Susan B. Anthony, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. Audience members are urged to consider the twin goals of racial and gender parity of equal importance.

Finally, community members are invited to explore some of the many dimensions of the Black experience through film. “Black Lives: Going Against the Grain” is a virtual film discussion with author and film critic Irv Slifkin.

Slifkin will lead a discussion of several films, including “Moonlight”, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco”, “Hoop Dreams”, “I Am Not Your Negro” and “Bamboozled.” Watch the movies ahead of time then join us on Zoom to discuss. The movies are all available to borrow from the library or to stream on Kanopy or Hoopla with a library card. Librarians are happy to assist you in accessing the films. The discussion will take place Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

Round out the month-long celebration by joining a virtual film discussion of “Little White Lie” on Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. This 2014 documentary investigates Black identity, racial privilege and the implications of being white passing through the personal story of filmmaker Lacey Schwartz, whose mother raised her to believe she was white. Watch the movie ahead of time then join us on Zoom to discuss. “Little White Lie” is available to stream on Kanopy with a library card.

To register and receive a link to join virtual programs, please visit the library’s events calendar at MoorestownLibrary.org/Events.

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