Defending the Freedom to Read
Karen, Coordinator of Young Adult Services , Coordinator of Young Adult Services
Recently one of our StoryTeen interns, Adelaide, gave testimony to the New York City Council about fighting book bans.Good afternoon. Thank you to the Members of the New York City Council for the opportunity to speak today.My name is Adelaide Sendlenski. I’m a sophomore in high school at Saint Ann’s and a participant in Brooklyn Public Library’s StoryTeen program. Through StoryTeen, I have had the opportunity to learn how important early childhood literacy is--the foundations laid from birth to 3 years impact a child’s learning for their entire life--and through StoryTeen I’ve had the…
A Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights Movement Booklist
As you all know, yesterday (January 15th) was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In celebration of this momentous holiday, below are ten books to read on his life and the Civil Rights Movement. 1. A Long Time Coming : a lyrical biography of race in America from Ona Judge to Barack Obama by Ray Anthony Shephard: This YA biography-in-verse of six important Black Americans from different eras, including Ona Judge, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama, chronicles the diverse ways each fought racism and shows how much--and how little--…
Changing Tides: 1965 Journal of Brooklyn CORE
In Honor of Black Life
What does remembrance look like? As an archivist, special collections manager and lover of history, a large part of remembrance for me is representation. This and other similar threads are constantly a part of how I think about the work we do at the Brooklyn Collection. Who are we representing? Who has enough, and who does not? I ask this every time I think about a possible donation or addition to our collection. Our current climate and the awakening being experienced by others around Black life and its importance (it is), how history is repeating itself and the renewed calls to remove…