Highlights at the Library
Welcome to February, better known as #BlackHistoryMonth, at the Oakland Public Library! We have book talks, story times, and SO many book and music lists to celebrate the diversity, history, and FUTURES of peoples from Africa and of the African diaspora. We celebrate Black History Month, in part, with our Black Culture Fest programming. Black Culture Fest: A Celebration of the African Diaspora is an annual Oakland Public Library effort, now in its fourth year, coordinated by Black OPL staff who happily and proudly share the brilliance and strength of our heritages. Here are some of our offerings this year:
Black Culture Storytime
The Reckoning: An Update & Panel Discussion on Reparation Proposals
The discussion about reparations is real and its loaded. So real that there is a State Task Force to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans. Two members of the task force, Dr. Jovan Scott-Lewis and Don Tamaki, Esq., will update the general public on their Interim Report (available at OPL), opens a new window and the likely direction of their recommendations to the California Legislature.
Eritrean Coffee Ceremony and Circle Talk
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Imagine... the intentionality, the deliberate awareness of consumption as well as the company with which you choose to share this experience with. You're invited to witness the beauty and flavors of the Eritrean coffee ceremony with local author, Senait Mesfin Piccigallo, who wrote "You're in America - Now What?" to discuss community building in a diverse place and making genuine multicultural friendships.
Exhibit: The Black Press in Oakland
On the second floor of main, we have an exhibit jointly curated by the Oakland History Center and the Newspapers and Magazines room to bring you a fascinating dive into Black newspapers and Black journalists in and around Oakland, from the 1860s to modern day.
A modern Black feminist book list featuring titles such as:
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