January 29, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, Princeton Public Library

Jeffrey Colvin: “Africaville: A Novel” African American Read-in Kick-off Event

The author gives a talk about his debut novel, a family saga set in a small Nova Scotia town settled by formerly enslaved people. Publisher’s Weekly calls “Africaville: A Novel,”  which explores concepts of racial identity, passing, interracial relationships and the meaning of home, “a penetrating, fresh look at the indomitable spirit of black pioneers and their descendants.”

January 30, 2020, 7:00 – 9:00 PM, Princeton Public Library

Lecture: “Palmer Square: A History”

Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood historian Shirley Satterfield gives a presentation on the history of Palmer Square and the lasting effect of urban renewal on Princeton’s African-American community. Historic photographs and documents from the Historical Society of Princeton will be featured.

Presented in partnership with the Historical Society of Princeton and the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society.

January 30, 2020, 6:00 PM, Princeton YWCA, 59 Paul Robeson Place, Princeton

Robin DiAngelo on White Fragility, Layla F. Saad’s Good Ancestor video podcast.

January 31, 2020, 6:00 – 8:00 PM, Princeton Public Library

Film: “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am”

This documentary examines the life of American novelist, essayist, editor, teacher, and professor emeritus at Princeton University Toni Morrison who died last year at the age of 88. Morrison was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature and is known for her nuanced discussion of race in America. Through the use of archival material, art and interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Angela Davis and Morrison herself, the film presents pieces of Morrison’s life, from her childhood in the working-class steel town of Lorain, Ohio, to her journey as a novelist and public intellectual. 1 hour, 59 minutes.

Presented in partnership with Princeton Public Schools.

February 1, 2020, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Princeton Public Library African American Read-In

The African American Read-In, an event dedicated to diversity in literature, is presented in partnership with Princeton Public Schools. Please check back for updates and more events as the month approaches.

11 AM Poet Khalil Murrell talks about his journey to becoming a poet, reads from his work, and takes audience questions.

Noon. Student performance: ACT-SO (Academic, Cultural, Technological, & Scientific Olympics)

1:15 PM Books Transform | An Inter-generational Presentation on the African American books that have been meaningful and/or transformative to members of our community.

February 2, 2020, 9:30 AM, Nassau Presbyterian Church, Assembly Room, 61 Nassau St, Princeton

Expanding the Map and Reconsidering the History of Christianity and Slavery

Nathan Jérémie-Brink, L. Russell Feakes Assistant Professor of the History of Global Christianity at New Brunswick Theological Seminary, speaks about Christianity and slavery as interrelated world movements, a paradox of the understanding of the history of human bondage and racism.

February 2, 2020, 4:00 – 5:00 PM, Princeton Public Library

Concert: “Comes Love: The Songs of Billie Holiday”

Demetria Joyce Bailey performs the songs that Billie Holiday loved to sing including hits such as “God Bless the Child” and “Lover Man” and lesser-known selections including “Gloomy Sunday” and “Did I Remember.”

Bailey, an actress on the stage and screen, possesses a powerful vocal range and sings old-school jazz and blues in the tradition of Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.