Lecture Event

Join us for a panel discussion on the principles of intellectual freedom. This event will kick off Banned Books Week, a celebration of the freedom to read hosted by public libraries throughout Dane County. 

Moderator: Bianca Martin, host of City Cast Madison (Best Podcast of Madison 2023)

Panelists:

Dr. Ashley White, Asst. Professor at UW-Madison and Inaugural Education Fellow for the NAACP

Erick Plumb, Director of Waunakee Public Library

Brittany Gitzlaff, Children's Librarian at Waunakee Public Library

In this presentation Prenicia tells her story of overcoming society putting young Black girls in a box and what it really means to create your own path in life. Prenicia to this day constantly challenges the stereotypes of Black women and uses her story to inspire youth.

Black Girls Don't Sing Opera!

What does it mean to be a Black girl performing in a predominantly white field?

Black Girls Don't Lead!

What does it mean to be a Black girl breaking barriers and leading a community?

Black Girls Don't Read!

A panel of Indigenous women and femmes from throughout the Midwest will talk about their leadership roles and work in the community as well as the challenges of Indigeneity in colonized society. The goal of this program is to address stereotypes of Native femininity and these connections to the international epidemic of MMIW (missing and murdered Indigenous women). Registration is not required, but sign up here for an email reminder if you like.

Program Description:

Join three African American Women Writers from Madison as they discuss their poetry, prose, and drama in relation to three African American Writers of Resistance.

Experience literature and discussion that informs and enlightens us in the ways in which we have agitated and advocated for change in our society both past and present.

Program Description:

Join three African American Women Writers from Madison as they discuss their poetry, prose, and drama in relation to three African American Writers of Resistance.

Experience literature and discussion that informs and enlightens us in the ways in which we have agitated and advocated for change in our society both past and present.

Join three African American Women Writers from Madison as they discuss their poetry, prose, and drama in relation to three African American Writers of Resistance.

Program Description

HMong music is the last surviving musical language in the world—it is able to mimic HMong speech by using musical intervals, ornamentation, and chords to mimic linguistic tones, consonants, and vowels—allowing musicians to literally speak with music.

Andrey Ivanov, a history professor who specializes in Russia and the Soviet Union at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, recently received a phone call from his parents in Kyiv, Ukraine. They had to flee. Fast. 

Program Description:

HMong music is the last surviving musical language in the world—it is able to mimic HMong speech by using musical intervals, ornamentation, and chords to mimic linguistic tones, consonants, and vowels—allowing musicians to literally speak with music. However, there have not been many opportunities for this unique trait of HMong music to shine. HMong American refugees first arrived to the United States in 1975, after having supported American CIA forces in Laos during the Vietnam War.

Program Description:

In this presentation Prenicia tells her story of overcoming society putting young Black girls in a box and what it really means to create your own path in life. Prenicia to this day constantly challenges the stereotypes of Black women and uses her story to inspire youth.

Black Girls Don't Sing Opera!

What does it mean to be a Black girl performing in a predominantly white field? 

Black Girls Don't Lead!

What does it mean to be a Black girl breaking barriers and leading a community?