We are pleased to announce that Lafourche Libraries is a recipient of the 2017 Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Grant. With this grant, we are able to bring a special reading and discussion program series with scholar, Dr. Paul Leslie to our Thibodaux Branch on Tuesday evenings in August. The program series is titled, “Generations of Struggle: Perspectives on Race and Justice from Reconstruction to the Present.” The program will present to participants three critically-acclaimed works – one film and two books – and will stimulate discussion among participants and the scholar about the works and how they relate to race relations and equality challenges in our society.
The program series will explore the following central questions:
What is meant by institutionalized racism? How are individuals of all races impacted by the criminal justice system and the education system?
Generational Differences – How do we experience race differently than previous generations?
Empathy and Fear - What factors contribute to understanding between members of different groups? How can we empathize with people from different periods in our history?
Over the course of the program series, participants will read two books and view one film:
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Slavery By Another Name (A PBS Documentary)
The participants will meet weekly at the Thibodaux Branch with our scholar, Dr. Paul Leslie, to discuss the previous week’s reading or viewing material and how it relates to race and equality in our country.
The program series will meet on Tuesday, August 8, 15, 22, and 29 from 5:00 - 6:30 PM at the Thibodaux Branch. All reading material will be provided for the participants. Interested persons should contact the Thibodaux Branch (447-4119) to register.
- Brooke, Public Relations Librarian