“Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones portray long-lost brothers in this compelling and poignant family drama about a white Southerner whose identity is shaken after he learns that his natural mother was black.” -MGM

All films are free and open to the public.

Sorry, this event has been CANCELLED

Everybody has a story to tell! This workshop will help you learn how to capture your own stories in a journal. Grades 5 to 8

Registration required. Call 553-7807 to register.

Co-sponsor: Better Tomorrows
All events free and open to the public.

Asian Briton Omar gains the running of his Uncle Nasser's laundromat, and is helped by his outsider friend Johnny, who is white but not entirely accepted by either white or Asian Londoners.

Discussion following, led by Joseph Reish and James Dexheimer.

All films are free and open to the public.

Stories of Personal Challenges
Co-sponsor: Reading Together Steering Committee

All events free and open to the public.

Create an online journal or web log with expert Jane Irwin. Visit stellar examples on the web. Space limited.

Grades 5 to 8

An interactive workshop on Slam Poetry, led by professional performance poet Christopher Bullmer. Learn how to write and perform poetry based on your life.

Grades 7-12

Establishing Identity in Biracial and Multiracial Families
Co-sponsor: Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations

All events free and open to the public.

Create a fabulous paper bag and tag journal out of lunch bags. We provide the materials, you add the creativity.

Grades 5 to 8

An interactive workshop on Slam Poetry, led by professional performance poet Christopher Bullmer. Learn how to write and perform poetry based on your life.

Grades 7-12

“The history of jazz is deeply intertwined with the history of America. Come relive some of the social and cultural events that would impact jazz music, jazz musicians, and jazz followers from the 1800s to the 1960s.” -PBS

All films are free and open to the public.

Light in the Shadows is a frank conversation about race among ten women who participated in the ground-breaking video The Way Home. These American women of Indigenous, African, Arab, European, Jewish, Asian, Latina and Mixed Race descent, use authentic dialogue to crack open a critical door of consciousness. What lies behind it is a perspective on race that is often unseen/ unnoticed within the dominant culture. With clear language, open hearts and a willingness to engage - even when it gets hard - these women travel over roads that demonstrate why valuable discourse on race is so laden with emotion, distrust and misunderstanding. Light in the Shadow is a springboard for critical self-inquiry and inter-ethnic dialogue. - World-Trust.org

Learn about basic genealogy resources from Local History Librarian Catherine Larson. Uncovering your family's past may help you better understand yourself.

Grades 7-12

Co-sponsor: YWCA of Kalamazoo
All events free and open to the public.

An interactive workshop on Slam Poetry, led by professional performance poet Christopher Bullmer. Learn how to write and perform poetry based on your life.

Grades 7-12

Share the songs and lyrics that best define you at this discussion. Learn how music can influence your life.

Grades 7-12

“This two-part documentary follows Jack Johnson's journey from his beginnings as the son of former slaves, to his entry into the brutal world of professional boxing. Despite the odds, Johnson was able to batter his way up through the ranks, and in 1908 he became the first African-American to earn the title Heavyweight Champion of the World.” -PBS

(Shown in two two-hour segments)

“Families Just Like Mine” explores how families are alike and how they differ. Stories, activities, and a craft. Call 553-7804 to register for this family program.

Preschoolers

Capturing, Preserving, and Compiling Memories
Co-sponsor: Southwest Michigan Black Heritage Society

All events free and open to the public.

Hear teens compete with poems based on their lives and inspired by James McBride's The Color of Water.

Grades 7-12

Reflections by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela (author of A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid) Co-sponsor: Fetzer Institute

All events free and open to the public.

“This two-part documentary follows Jack Johnson's journey from his beginnings as the son of former slaves, to his entry into the brutal world of professional boxing. Despite the odds, Johnson was able to batter his way up through the ranks, and in 1908 he became the first African-American to earn the title Heavyweight Champion of the World.” -PBS

(Shown in two two-hour segments)

Passing Down Faith through the Generations
Co-sponsor: ISAAC (Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy and Action in the Community) This panel of local religious leaders will explore how religious faith and traditions are passed from one generation to the next.  Discussion will spring from James McBride’s descriptions of his mother’s religious background and his own beliefs and traditions.  How did his mother, raised as an Orthodox Jew, raise James to be a believing, practicing Christian?

MODERATOR:  Linda MacDonald, pastor, North Presbyterian Church, and past president of ISAAC

All events free and open to the public.