February CelebratingCelebrating 2021 BlackBlack HistoryHistory MonthMonth The City of Pasadena is celebrating Black History Month, also known as National African American History Month, by recognizing the achievements and contributions of Black Americans and their central role in our nation’s history with virtual programs, events, and activities for all ages. Pasadena Public Library, the Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Department, and the Pasadena Black History Committee are offering a month long series of programs in February.
Library programming is sponsored by The Friends of the Pasadena Public Library.
200 Years of Black Pioneers Events in Pasadena and Los Angeles Many people don’t realize how deep the roots are that the African American community has Storytime for Grownups in Southern California. This talk explores the Find a comfy chair and settle in on Instagram stories, some little known, of half a dozen Live as we read aloud from classic works by pioneering, local individuals and communities: African American authors in honor of Black History Month. Get lit(erature)! For adults. • The Pobladores, the original 1781 settlers of the Pueblo of Los Angeles, Join us on Instagram Live at @pasadenalibrary. over half of whom had some African blood. Mondays • 4 p.m. • Instagram Live • Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of California, of African and Mestizo ancestry. African American Poetry • Biddy Mason, a midwife, who went from newly freed slave to one of The Pasadena Rose Poets will present the poetry the largest commercial landowners in Los Angeles within 20 years. of African American poets past and present, • The original African American settlers of Pasadena, who quickly along with some of their own poetry. Presented formed a vibrant, tightly knit community here by the early 1900s. by Teresa Mei Chuc, Kate Gale, Hazel Clayton • Paul R. Williams, the first licensed African American architect west Harrison, Gerda Govine Ituarte, Shahé Mankerian, of the Mississippi. Toni Mosley, Carla Sameth and Annette Wong. • Jackie Robinson, who starred in four sports at John Muir High School, Sign up here. PCC, and UCLA, and went on to become the first African American Tuesday, Feb. 9 • 11 a.m. • Zoom player in major league baseball.
Fatphobia as Anti-Blackness: Presented by Dave Nufer, a program developer, researcher, and docent The Origins of Weight Stigma for Pasadena Heritage and The LA Conservancy. He has previously given The medical establishment tells us that we are library talks on “Hispanic Influences on California Architecture,” and in an “obesity epidemic” and that Black people-- “The Asian Roots of Pasadena’s Arts and Crafts Architecture.” and Black women especially--should lose weight. Sign up here. But, is this rooted in health concerns? In this Wednesday, Feb. 17 • 4 p.m. • Zoom presentation, Sabrina Strings, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine Jungle Drum Circle with Chazz Ross will show that aversion to fatness is not rooted in Celebrate Black History Month with Chazz Ross’s Jungle Drum-Circle medical concerns; rather, it dates back to slavery. performance. Enjoy an amazing percussion show with African Djembe Moreover, even the medical field is implicated drums and learn about their history. Drawing on 40 years of experience in its racist and sexist origins. in African music and dance, Chazz delivers an exciting performance for Sign up here. all ages. Sign up here. Wednesday, Feb. 10 • 5 p.m. • Zoom Monday, Feb. 22 • 2 p.m. • Zoom For Children
Telling Tales with Nick Smith STEAM Storytime Join library staffer and storyteller Nick Smith as he shares a mix of folk- Miss Monica Reads the NCTE Charlotte Huck Award winner, tales and historical pieces about African Americans. Find these stories, I Am Every Good Thing, by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. and more on the Library’s YouTube channel. This collection of stories James. Join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ is perfect for school age kids and their families, and is available 24/7 pasadenalapintoresca/. on demand. Presented in partnership with Pasadena Media. Thursday, Feb. 11 • 11 a.m. • Facebook
Celebrate Black History Month with Social Media Storytime African and African American Enjoy books by African American creators. Tales with Storyteller Michael D. McCarty • Preschool Storytime Storyteller Michael D. McCarty Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/pasadenalibrary. entertains and educates with tales For ages 3-5 and their caregivers. from Africa and of African Americans Monday, Feb. 1 • 10:30 a.m. • Facebook that depict the challenges and triumphs of Black people throughout history. Toddler Storytime • For ages 5+. Perfect for families! Join us on Instagram Live at @pasadenalibrary. Sign up here. For ages 18-36 months and their caregivers. Thursday, Feb. 11 • 4 p.m. • Zoom Tuesday, Feb. 2 • 10:30 a.m. • Instagram Live
• Preschool Storytime Preschool Storytime: Celebrating Black Families Join us on Instagram Live at Join us as we share family-friendly stories and songs. @pasadenalibrary. For ages 3-5. Sign up here. For ages 3-5 and their caregivers. Wednesday, Feb. 17 • 10:30 a.m. • Zoom Thursday, Feb. 4 • 3 p.m. Instagram Live Chocolate Storytime An afternoon of storytelling and village building, featuring • Signs ‘n Storytime stories authored by and/or about African Americans. Join A fun storytime featuring a few us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ American Sign Language (ASL) pasadenalapintoresca/ as Dr. Ayesha Randall reads a book signs to learn. Join us on Instagram celebrating the culture of Black Americans. For ages 3+. Live at @pasadenalibrary. Friday, Feb. 26 • 4 p.m. • Facebook Friday, Feb. 5 • 4 p.m. Instagram Live
For Tweens For Teens
Windows and Mirrors Book Club Sketches & More 5th – 7th graders meet online to discuss a For teens, join us for a virtual guided art session inspired contemporary realistic middle grade book about by Black History Month with staff from the Armory Center kids with diverse backgrounds and experiences. for the Arts. Supplies available if needed. Sign up here. Maybe you’ll see yourself in one of these kids, Wednesday, Feb. 17 • 4 p.m. • Zoom or maybe you’ll get a window into the lives of others! This month’s book is A Good Kind of Paint With Us Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée. We’ll talk about Join us for a painting tutorial inspired by Black the book’s themes of civil rights, social justice and activism. History Month. Supplies available for pickup if Listen to the audiobook on hoopla, read the eBook on needed. View the live stream at youtube.com/ Overdrive or Cloud Library or pick up a print copy from user/pasadenalibrary. For teens ages 12-18. your local branch library. Sign up here. Sign up here. Wednesday, Feb. 10 • 7 p.m. • Zoom Wednesday, Feb. 24 • 4 p.m. • Zoom
2 For Adults
Beyond the Book – PPL’s Virtual Book Groups Our book groups are now offered virtually, a format that will allow you to keep in contact with your fellow book lovers as you discuss new books together.
Need a copy of the book? Place a hold on a physical copy using our Library catalog and pick it up at any of our curbside pickup locations. You can also download an eBook version using your Pasadena Public Library card one of two ways: Via Cloud Library or Via Overdrive.
Hastings Branch Allendale Book Virtual Hill Avenue Book Chit Chat: Discussion: Book Club: Lakewood The Vanishing Half Invisible Man Join us online as we discuss In celebration of Black We will be meeting online Lakewood by Megan Giddings. History Month, join us as to discuss Invisible Man Copies are available through we discuss The Vanishing by author Ralph Ellison. hoopla using your Pasadena Half by author Brit Bennet. Sign up here. Public Library card. Sign up here. Thursday, Feb. 4 Sign up here. Tuesday, Feb. 2 10:30 a.m. • Zoom Saturday, Feb. 6 6:30 p.m. • Zoom 10:30 a.m. • Zoom
Black History Month Film Reading Challenge Is This Heaven? (2015) Documentary We’re highlighting Black History and Black John Preston “Pete” Hill was an American outfielder and Creators this month with a special Black History manager in baseball’s Negro leagues from 1899 to 1925. Month challenge. This just-for-fun month long He played for the Philadelphia Giants, Leland Giants, reading challenge starts February 1. Sign up here. Chicago American Giants, Detroit Stars, Milwaukee Bears Participate by logging your reading, posting and Baltimore Black Sox. reviews, and attending some of our virtual programs! View anytime you wish at home, available through hoopla. To access it go to hoopla.
Crafts
Make Your Own Paper Freedom Quilt Squares Notable Black Artists Buttons and Bookmarks Learn a bit about freedom quilts and then create your own Celebrate the contributions that Black Americans have made in paper quilt square to be a part of the Lamanda Community the arts by collecting our commemorative buttons and bookmarks. Freedom Quilt displayed in the library’s windows. Quilt squares Collect all six. Pick up to two buttons or bookmarks a week at must be picked up and returned to Lamanda Park Branch Library. La Pintoresca Branch Library while supplies last. To reserve your kit, sign up at https://www.surveymonkey.com Monday, Feb. 8-Friday, Feb. 26 • 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. /r/pplfreedomquiltsquares beginning Feb. 1. Available while While supplies last supplies last. For ages 5-12. Monday, Feb. 1 • 9 a.m. • While supplies last Crafting with Tiff & Tosh Join us and learn how to make special crafts in honor of Black Linda Vista Decorative Arts: Take and Make Fabric History Month. Join us on Instagram Live at @ pasadenalibrary. Quilt Block Mondays, Feb. 8 & 22 • 3 p.m. • Instagram Live Make a small fabric quilt block to celebrate one of the oldest forms of African American artistic visual expression. Materials Black History Month Take & Make: and instructions are included to complete your block. Scissors Basquiat Crown needed. To reserve your fabric quilt block kit call (626) 744-7278 Learn about famous African American artist starting Feb. 8 at 9 a.m. For ages 18+. Available while supplies last. Jean-Michel Basquiat then create your very Monday, Feb. 8 • 9 a.m. • While supplies last own wearable Basquiat crown. Fill out a survey form https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ Hastings Peace Wreath Craft PPLBasquiatCrown starting Feb. 22 at 9:30 a.m. to reserve your kit. Celebrate Black History Month by creating a paper peace Limit: one kit per participant. You’ll receive an e-mail when your wreath made of hands. To reserve your craft kit, sign up at craft kit is ready for pickup. All materials included. Available while https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PPLpeacewreaths beginning supplies last. Feb. 8 at 9:30 a.m. Available while supplies last (additional Monday, Feb. 22 • 9:30 a.m. - Thursday, Feb. 25 • 5:30 p.m. supplies needed: scissors, glue and/or stapler). For ages 5+. While supplies last Monday, Feb. 8 • 9:30 a.m. • While supplies last 3 The City of Pasadena, Parks Recreation and Community Services Department and the Pasadena Black History Committee will host the following events in celebration of Black History Month and in lieu of Pasadena’s 39th Annual Black History Month Parade and Festival.
BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES
Support Pasadena Drive-in Movie Black-Owned Businesses Selma (2014) PG-13 We encourage everyone to support local A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s campaign to Black-owned businesses. Please visit secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma www.cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. Free (pre-registration for a list of businesses. required). For more information and to sign up, visit Monday, Feb. 1-28 • Throughout Pasadena www.cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec/. Saturday, Feb. 20 • 6 p.m. • Rose Bowl
Pasadena People, Places Celebrity DJ Dance Party and Events Shaped by Playing sounds from 1960s through 2000s virtually. African Americans View livestream on Facebook and Instagram. For more information and to sign up, visit Take a virtual tour with local community members as www.cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec/. they provide information on landmarks, educational For all ages. institutions, sports, business and other areas impacted Saturday, Feb. 27 • 5-10 p.m. • Facebook & Instagram by Black Pasadenans. For more information and to sign up, visit www.cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec/. Monday, Feb. 15-Friday, Feb. 19
Please visit www.cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec throughout the month for updates and additional information.
4 Authors & their Journeys Series
African American Mystery and Crime Writers African American authors Rachel Howzell Hall (And Now She’s Gone), Pamela Samuels Young (Murder on the Down Low), and Gary Phillips (Warlord of Willow Ridge) will share their writing journeys. Sign up here. Wednesday, Feb. 3 • 4 p.m. • Zoom
The Moor’s Account by author Laila Lalami Author Laila Lalami will discuss her novel The Moor’s Account, a fictional memoir of Estebanico, widely considered to be the first black explorer of America, the Moroccan slave who survived the Narvaez expedition and accompanied Cabeza de Vaca. His tale illuminates the ways in which our narratives can transmigrate into history—and how storytelling can offer a chance at redemption and survival. Lalami was born in Rabat and educated in Morocco, Great Britain and the United States. She is the author of four novels, including The Moor’s Account, which won the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the National Book Award in Fiction. She is a full professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside and lives in Los Angeles. Her new book, a work of nonfiction called Conditional Citizens, was published by Pantheon in September 2020. Sign up here. Thursday, Feb. 11 • 5 p.m. • Zoom
Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke Author Attica Locke will discuss her latest novel Heaven, My Home (September 2019), the sequel to Edgar Award-winning Bluebird, Bluebird, and share her writing journey as an African American writer. Heaven, My Home is a Pasadena Public Library 2021 One City, One Story nominee. Her third novel, Pleasantville, was the winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was also long-listed for the Bailey’s Prize for Women’s Fiction. The Cutting Season was the winner of the Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Her first novel, Black Water Rising, was nominated for an Edgar Award, an NAACP Image Award, as well as a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was short-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. A former fellow at the Sundance Institute’s Feature Filmmaker’s Lab, Locke works as a screenwriter as well. Most recently, she was a writer and producer on Netflix’s When They See Us and the upcoming Hulu adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere. A native of Houston, Texas, Attica lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. Sign up here. Thursday, Feb. 18 • 5 p.m. • Zoom
An American Journey – A Legacy of Freedom and Slavery Monticello, once the home of Thomas Jefferson and 400 enslaved men, women and children, is a testament to America’s legacy of freedom and slavery. Join us as Gayle Jessup White, a descendant of Jefferson and two of the families he enslaved, discusses her decades-long journey tracing her family’s oral tradition connecting her to Jefferson. A book about her life-long journey will be published by HarperCollins in the fall of 2021. White is also Monticello’s first public relations and community engagement officer. Sponsored by the Hastings Branch Library Associates. Sign up here. Friday, Feb. 26 • 5 p.m. • Zoom
Partners to History: Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and the Civil Rights Movement by Donzaleigh Abernathy Donzaleigh Abernathy, an American actress, author and civil rights activist, will discuss her book, Partners to History: Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and the Civil Rights Movement. The book is a tribute and testament to the courage, strength and endurance of Martin Luther King, Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. and those involved in the Civil Rights Movement -- men who stirred a nation with their moral fortitude. Abernathy is the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy, Sr. and Juanita Jones Abernathy, who was quite famous for being actively involved in the creation and strategies of the Civil Rights Movement and in present-day civil and human rights efforts until her death on September 12, 2019.Sign up here. Saturday, Feb. 27 • 2 - 4 pm. • Zoom
5 CelebratedCelebrated AfricanAfrican AmericanAmerican WritersWriters
Maya Angelou, 1928-2014, autobiographer, W.E.B. Du Bois, 1868-1963, sociologist, Zora Neale Hurston, 1891-1960, novelist, poet, civil rights activist historian, civil rights activist, novelist short story writer, folklorist, anthropologist • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969 • The Souls of Black Folk, 1903 (essays) • Mules and Men, 1935 (folklore) (autobiography) • The Quest of the Silver Fleece, • Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937 (novel) • And Still I Rise, 1978 (poems) 1911 (novel) • Dust Tracks on a Road, 1942 (autobiography) • On the Pulse of Morning, 1993 (poem) • Writings, 1986 (essays) Toni Morrison, b. 1931, novelist, editor, James Baldwin, 1924-1987, poet, novelist, Ralph Ellison, 1914-1994, novelist, professor playwright, essayist, social critic literary critic • The Bluest Eye, 1970 (novel) • Go Tell it on the Mountain, 1953 (novel) • Invisible Man, 1952 (novel) • Song of Solomon, 1977 (novel) • The Amen Corner, 1954 (play) • Juneteenth, 1999 (novel) • Beloved, 1987 (novel) • The Fire Next Time, 1963 (essays) • Living with Music, 2001 (essays) Alice Walker, b. 1944, novelist, poet, Amiri Baraka, 1934-2014, poet, playwright, Alex Haley, 1921-1992, novelist, short story writer, activist novelist, essayist, political activist, music critic journalist • The Color Purple, 1982 (novel) • The Dead Lecturer, 1964 (poems) • The Autobiography of Malcolm X, • Her Blue Body Everything We Know: • Dutchman & The Slave, 2001 (plays) 1965 (autobiographical narrative, Earthling Poems, 1991 • Tales of the Out & the Gone, 2007 (short stories) collaboration with Malcolm X) • Now is the Time to Open Your Heart, • Roots, 1976 (novel) 2003 (novel) Octavia Butler, 1947-2006, science fiction writer • Queen: The Story of an American • Kindred, 1979 (novel) Family, 1993 (biographical novel) August Wilson, 1945-2005, playwright • Parable of the Sower, 1993 (novel) • Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, 1984 • Bloodchild and Other Stories, 1995 (short stories) Langston Hughes, 1902-1967, poet, • Fences, 1987 novelist, playwright • The Piano Lesson, 1990 Frederick Douglass, 1818-1895, writer, orator, • The Collected Poems of Langston abolitionist, social reformer Hughes, 1994 Richard Wright, 1908-1960, novelist, • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, • Not Without Laughter, 1930 (novel) short story writer, poet an American Slave, 1845 (memoir) • The Collected Works of Langston • Native Son, 1940 (novel) • My Bondage and My Freedom, 1855 Hughes: the Short Stories, 2001 • Black Boy, 1945 (autobiography) (autobiographical slave narrative) • Haiku: This Other World, 1998 (poems) • Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings, 1999
Though our doors may be closed as a precautionary measure, we have numerous virtual options to inform, educate, entertain and connect you to the greater world beyond your home all accessible on our website, www.pasadenapubliclibrary.net.
Our staff are still providing reference service for you via phone at(626) 744-4066, option 7, by email at [email protected] or Live Chat https://www.cityofpasadena.net/library/live-chat/.
We offer curbside pickup service at Central Library and Allendale, Hastings, Lamanda Park, La Pintoresca, Linda Vista, San Rafael and Santa Catalina branch libraries, where you are able to pick up reserved materials placed on hold. Library materials can also be returned in the nearby library book drops.
The Pasadena Public Library is an information center for the Pasadena community in order to preserve and encourage the free expression of ideas essential to an informed citizenry.
A variety of highly vetted programs are presented for children and adults and they represent the research and opinions of the presenter and do not reflect an endorsement by the City of Pasadena nor the Pasadena Public Library.
The library often photographs or videotapes programs for use in publicity materials. By being present during these activities, you consent to use of your appearance or likeness by the library and its licensees, designees, or assignees, in all media, worldwide, in perpetuity. To ensure the privacy of individuals and children, images will not be identified using names or personal identifying information without written approval from the photographed subject, parent or legal guardian.
All Pasadena Public Library programs and events listed in this brochure are free and open to the public.
Many thanks to The Friends of the Pasadena Public Library PASADENA for their continued support of Pasadena Public Library’s PUBLIC programs. To learn more about The Friends and how you can LIBRARY become a member, visit http://www.friendsppl.org/.
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