Author Lorene Cary Speaks at Paley Library, February 8, as Temple Libraries kick off statewide Quest for Freedom Initiative
The Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, Temple University Libraries and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation are partnering to celebrate the first-ever Quest for Freedom Live & Learn weekend presented by the Pennsylvania Tourism Office by welcoming renowned author Lorene Cary, whose novel The Price of a Child, was chosen for concurrent reading circles throughout the Commonwealth. The opening weekend will kick-off on Friday, February 8 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Paley Library Lecture Hall. Paley Library Lecture Hall is in the ground floor of Paley Library, located centrally, next to the bell tower, on Temple’s main campus.
The program will begin with jazz music provided by pianist Farid Barron. After brief introductions by David Washington, Director of Library External Affairs & Advancement; Lenwood Sloan of the Pennsylvania Tourism Office; and Dr. Diane D. Turner, Curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, a panel discussion of Lorene Cary’s seminal work, The Price of a Child, will take place. The panel will feature Cary herself along with Dr. Molefi Asante and Dr. Turner. The panel will be moderated by dr. tonya thames taylor, Frederick Douglass Institute Scholar and history professor at West Chester University. Re-enactors will then engage the audience with performances of abolitionists/activists Francis Harper and Octavius Cato. The program will be followed by a 45 minute reception. In addition to this event at Temple, a tour of Underground Railroad sites, led by Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, will be held on Saturday, February 9.
These book learning weekends are a statewide project that uses books as the springboard for discussions and tours as part of a weekend of activities to explore the story of the Underground Railroad and the Civil War. Quarterly Live and Learn weekends are part of the Philadelphia Quest for Freedom program, which serves as an anchor to the statewide program—Pennsylvania Quest for Freedom. Program activities include: educational and interpretive tours, stand-alone historic properties, archives, libraries and other visitor experiences across a six network region of Pennsylvania. This event also marks the first-ever public program held by the Blockson Collection under the leadership of Dr. Turner.
For more information, visit the statewide website questforfreedom.org or the regional website, gophila.com/questforfreedom.
Live and Learn Weekends are taking place across the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, throughout the spring and summer of 2008.
On each weekend you can join a discussion on the featured book in Lancaster, Philadelphia or Pittsburg.
The featured book for each weekend is as follows:
February 8 – 9: The Price of A Child by Lorene Cary
April 4 – 5: The Colors of Courage by Margaret Creighton
June 20 – 21: Forever Free by Eric Foner
August 15 – 16: Lincoln and Democracy by Harold Holzer & Mario Cuomo
The following scholars will lead the book discussions at these locations:
Lancaster: Dr. Louise Stevenson, Professor of History and American Studies at Franklin and
Marshall College
Philadelphia: Dr. tonya thames taylor, Frederick Douglass Scholar and History Professor at
West Chester University
Pittsburgh: Dr. Katherine Ayres, Lecturer in English/Writing and Coordinator of the Writing for
Children and Adolescents Program at Chatham University (The weekend of April 4-5
will have Dr. Lesley Gordon, Professor of History at the University of Akron, OH, as the
scholar)
Each weekend features great room rates, heritage tours, museum exhibits, reenactments, and restaurant outings. Several weekends will also feature book signings by the authors. For more information, please visit www.visitpa.com/freedom.
