Barack Obama virtually discusses A PROMISED LAND

March 29, 2021 @ 7:00 pm 8:30 pm EDT

Barnes & Noble is honored to welcome Barack Obama for a virtual event to discuss his bestselling autobiography, A PROMISED LAND, a riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy. He’ll be in conversation withIsabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the critically acclaimed #1 New York Timesbestseller,CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents. Event is free but registration is required. read more

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An Ally to Our Asian Neighbors

On Tuesday night (March 16, 2021) a man with a gun shot and killed eight people, including six young Asian women. According to the New York Times, Asian Americans were targeted in nearly 3,800 hate incidents in the past year. Words cannot fully express the senselessness of this violence, nor can they fully measure the amount of pain and suffering that will endure long after last night’s carnage. And that is why we say that words alone are simply not enough. read more

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Allies Exclusive: Children’s Book Reading

In a Ridgefield Allies video exclusive to celebrate Black History Month and to illustrate how parents can and should begin educating their children to be antiracist as early as possible, Ridgefield native Lily Robinson reads the children’s book Antiracist Baby, by Ibram X. Kendi. Ridgefield Allies urge parents to view this video with their children and to make this and similar children’s books regular volumes they read to and with their very young children. As the book explains, antiracist babies (and the toddlers, teens, and adults they grow into) are made through learning. Let us all take steps to advance such learning. For additional antiracism resources, including resources aimed at young children, please visit our Resources page.

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MLK Jr Actively Sought Out, Confronted, & Challenged Injustice and Complacency

He Pursued Justice As An End In Itself And As The Only True Healing

Today we commemorate the life, work, and meaning of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, too many in pop culture and in our community will celebrate a faux Dr. King, an ersatz posthumous version drained of his righteous moral power, erudite learned wisdom, and unyielding bravery, a domesticated Stuart Smalley-esque construction that does not challenge us to be more than simply superficially “nice” to one another. That is not the Dr King who existed nor to whom we owe so much. This artifice is as a blasphemy to Dr. King’s teachings and to the multitudes of lesser known and wholly unknown collaborators who worked and toiled with him over the two decades of his publicly-visible activism and in the over five decades since. Millions of black women and men, most without Dr. King’s immense oratorical and intellectual gifts, but who nonetheless took up the power and righteousness of their shared mission, and who still toil today, are insulted and demeaned by such impotent depictions. read more

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UPDATED TIME: Ridgefield’s MLK, Jr Celebration Marks 25th Anniversary Milestone — Live Stream Monday, Jan 18, 2021 @ 1 pm

Every year The Spirit of Dr. King Award is given to a Ridgefield resident for their outstanding commitment to community service and selflessness, as we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King. This year will be special, not only because it is it the 25th Anniversary of this event, but because, for the first time, it will all be done virtually and can be viewed LIVE on Monday, January 18. 2020, beginning at 1 pm on the Ridgefield Playhouse YouTube Channel, and will be available for replay viewing anytime thereafter.” read more

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