getting some culture, part 2

Remember when I went to the Learning Center a couple of weeks ago?

That was for the lecture about letters during times of war, and I'd very much liked it.

I'd go to more lectures there, but that would eat into my budget.

See, even if I join the organization - which would cost $75 annually - I'd still have to pony up money for each event (typically $10 to $20 each).

That's a bit much for me, as I'd have to cut out meals with others.

Nope!

So what had enticed me for a second outing?

Another free event!

"Who's Reading Banned Books... And Why?" was sponsored as part of the Savannah Black Heritage Festival, so it was free for all.

That's not to say the eight books were all by black artists - they weren't.

It's not to say the eight readers were all black, either - they weren't.

However, the books did concern fringe members of American society and I think that was the reason the city of Savannah chipped in funding, on behalf of SBHF37.

It should be noted that none of the books in the poster were included.

Also, the books used tonight had been "challenged", which is the precursor to their being banned.

They had not been forever removed from the public.

To my surprise, several of the books selected were novels that had been made into movies which I'd seen!

"The Color Purple" - written in 1982, from which Melissa Swindell read the conversation about God that Celie had with Shug.

"The Hate U Give" - written in 2017, from which Rexana Lester read the encounter that Starr and Khalil had with the police officer.

"The Grapes Of Wrath" - written in 1939, from which Roger Smith read the short speech of Tom to his mother, and then her speech about ordinary people.Those were very serious conversations.

So were the ones selected from "Native Son" (written in 1940) and "Go Tell It On The Mountain" (written in 1953).

The former excerpt, read by Andreia Wardlaw, was between Gus and Bigger Thomas about the power white men had that they didn't as black men.

The latter one, read by Lola Dewitt of the Live Oak Public Libraries, was between Esther and Rev. Gabriel when she tells him she is pregnant with his child and that he needs to leave his barren wife to be with her.

(I really liked that one, mostly because Dewitt used different voices for the characters, bringing them to life!)

Another one I enjoyed was "Love To Langston", a 2002 collection of poems meant to introduce children to the works of Langston Hughes.

My thanks to Teresa-Michelle Jackson (of the SBHF) for turning me on to that!

The last two books were nonfiction, meaning they weren't of much interest to me, but that's okay.

Reverend Guillermo Arboleda read from the prologue of "Stamped From The Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas In America", which came out in 2016.

Bruce Cohen, a retired epidemiologist, read from the 2018 "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism".

Both books sound like somebody's doctoral thesis to me.

I'm glad those were the first two at this event tonight.

The spoonful of sugar that followed that heavy dose of gripes made this a successful venture for me.

(smile!)