Leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the library will host special events to honor and celebrate Dr. King. All events are free.
Beginning Saturday, January 13 at 10:30 a.m., the South End Branch will host Family Craft. Participants of all ages will work together to create a scroll depicting Dr. King’s six principles of nonviolence.
Following the family event there will be a screening beginning at 12 p.m. of the PBS documentary Owned: A Tale of Two Americas. Directed by Giorgio Angelini, the documentary exposes how the American housing policy market has been manipulated for years in discriminatory ways. Rashida Rattray-Reid, Education & Outreach Coordinator for the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, will moderate a post-screening discussion. This event is presented in partnership with the Stamford MLK Committee.
On Monday, January 15, the library will present screenings throughout the day of the award-winning drama, Selma. Directed by Ava DuVernay, the film chronicles Dr. King’s campaign to secure equal voting rights through the march he led with numerous civil rights leaders from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. Selma will be shown at 1 p.m. at the Harry Bennett Branch and at 3 and 5:30 p.m. at the Main Library.
Closing out the commemoration is the return of the Book Bunch Club at the Main Library on Saturday, January 20 at 2 p.m. Here, a Youth Services librarian will read from Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo. The reading will be followed by an activity for children in grades 2 to 4 based on the book. Snacks will be served.