Read / See / Do
Week of March 26, 2018
Read
1) The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
A national bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation and gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement. At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin's early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice, the book is an intensely personal and provocative document.
This rich and moving novel traces the lives of two black heroines from their close-knit childhood in a small Ohio town, through their sharply divergent paths of womanhood, to their ultimate confrontation and reconciliation.
3) No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam by Reza Aslann
Though it is the fastest-growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded in ignorance and fear for much of the West. In No god but God, Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed scholar of religions, explains this faith in all its beauty and complexity.
Libraries have always served as an immense resource for knowledge and education. Support your local library by borrowing books from them!
See
1) Birth Control Your Own Adventure by Sindha Agha
"Birth Control Your Own Adventure is a sparklingly cutting film featuring a cast of sinister Icelandic sheep, clumsy endives and an OB-GYN who talks with the voice of a robot. Agha makes insightful and snark use of these tools to chronicle the epic saga of her struggle with the side effects of birth control medication...it's a dizzyingly inventive self-portrait of a person forced to choose between depression and physical pain." See more of Agha's work
2) February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four by Rebecca Cerese
"February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four is an intimate look at how four African-American freshmen at North Carolina A&T University took a stand for justice by sitting down at a Woolworth whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in February 1960. Filled with the enthusiasm and idealism of youth and built on the philosophy of non-violence learned from Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, their actions profoundly changed the direction of our country, re-launching a civil rights movement that had begun to sputter after the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas."
3) Beyond Suffrage: A Century of New York Women in Politics at Museum of the City of New York
Currently on view. Entrance: $18 adults; $12 students and seniors; free ages 19 and under
"Beyond Suffrage: A Century of New York Women in Politics traces women’s political activism in New York City from the struggle to win the vote, through the 20th century, and into our own times. Beginning with the long battle for women’s voting rights that culminated in 1917 statewide and 1920 nationally, the exhibition highlights women at the center of New York’s politics over the course of 100 years. It features a diverse range of activists both familiar and lesser known, the battles they fought, and the many issues they championed.
The exhibition examines how women navigated New York politics in the 1920s through 1940s, often working behind the scenes for causes like health, labor, and good government; the central role of New York in the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and its redefining of women’s roles in politics and government; and continued campaigns for women’s political power and grassroots mobilizations that demand equal gender rights today."
Do
1) Vote, educate, donate and sign the petition to support March For Our Lives and gun control
"March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of the seventeen lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Lives believes the time is now.
There cannot be two sides to doing everything in our power to ensure the lives and futures of children who are at risk of dying when they should be learning, playing, and growing. The mission and focus of March For Our Lives is to demand that a comprehensive and effective bill be immediately brought before Congress to address these gun issues. No special interest group, no political agenda is more critical than timely passage of legislation to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our country." Learn more
2) Adopt a Red Panda and support Red Panda Network
"Red Panda Network’s vision is to ensure the survival of wild red pandas and preserve their habitat for future generations to study, experience, and enjoy. We are committed to protecting wild red pandas and preserving their habitat through the empowerment of local communities by adaptive community-based research, education, and sustainable development.
Our intention is to create country-specific programs that will become locally managed and self-sustaining within 5 years after operation has begun. We have initiated our programs in Nepal and will incrementally duplicate our efforts in all red panda range countries, which include India, China, Bhutan, and Myanmar." Learn more
3) Download We Read Too, a directory of diverse books in an app by Kaya Thomas
"We Read Too is a directory of hundreds of picture, chapter, middle grade and young adult books written by authors of color featuring main characters of color. Whether you are a parent, librarian, teacher or student, We Read Too is the best resource for you to find diverse books for youth readers." Learn more
