Civil Rights and a Civil Society June 12; Culture of the Osage Nation and Rock Day June 9
_107x137.jpg)
Public libraries can be counted on to provide a safe setting for a community’s challenging conversations. So it’s fitting that the Library Center plays host to Civil Rights and a Civil Society: Critical Dialogues in Equity, Race, and Identity, at 7 p.m. on June 12 in the auditorium.
Andrea Blackman, Special Collections Division manager at the Nashville, Tennessee, Public Library, will lead the session for teens and adults, focusing on cultural sensitivity, awareness of racism and social injustice in our everyday lives.
Her goal is to help participants know how to create a culturally inclusive, respectful environment in their schools, companies and communities.
As director of the library’s Civil Rights Room, Blackman’s efforts to document the history of the Civil Rights movement grew into an ambitious project to create this curriculum for change. She began “Civil Rights and a Civil Society” in 2015 for local law enforcement, and has expanded it for broader audiences in schools and communities here and abroad.
We hope you will join in Springfield’s “Critical Dialogues in Equity, Race, and Identity.”
_ _ _
The Osage Nation long ago called the Ozarks home. At 3 p.m. Saturday, June 9, at the Schweitzer Brentwood Branch, you’re invited to peer inside the Osage Culture Traveling Trunk presented by Don Smith, education director for the History Museum on the Square.
Learn about the everyday lives of the Osage, the historic inhabitants of the Ozarks, with this interactive educational resource developed by the Osage Nation and Missouri State University. It features linguistic activities, song and dance material, clothing, rawhide drums and more. For details call 883-1974.
_ _ _
If the Ozarks’ bedrock has you curious, catch a day full of geology-themed programs on Saturday, June 9, at the Library Station during Rock Day. Check thelibrary.org/programs for kids’ events that day. Adult sessions in the Santa Fe Room include expert presentations on Diamond Origins & Geology at 2 p.m.; Rock Identification at 2:30 p.m.; Geological History of southwest Missouri, 4 p.m. and Rock Climbing Travelogue with Basic Tips at 6 p.m.
Find this article at