The Lawrence Public Library will celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a slate of family-friendly events and a food drive.
Each day leading up to the holiday, folks can bring nonperishable food and pantry items to the library’s Ask Desk to be donated to Just Food, the Douglas County food bank. Most needed items include cereal, tomato sauce, peanut butter, rice, canned fruit, pasta and canned proteins.
On Monday, Jan. 20, folks can bring donations to barrels in the library auditorium, where the celebrations will get underway.
Ursula Minor, president of the Lawrence branch of the NAACP, will give a welcoming statement and emcee the day.
Poet and musician Barry Washboard Barnes will lead storytime starting at 10:30 a.m. in the auditorium. Then attendees can head to the Readers’ Theater in the children’s area to work on an MLK Day craft from 11:15 a.m. to noon.
Taco Zone will provide a free taco bar lunch from noon to 1 p.m. in the auditorium.
Finally, from 1 to 2 p.m., Angela Bates, executive director of the Nicodemus Historical Society, will give a slide presentation about Nicodemus, Kansas, a site founded by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War, according to the library’s event page.
“Angela will tailor her talk to be suitable for an all-ages audience and will incorporate dolls from the era and children’s books into the discussion,” according to the page.
See the library’s website and event page at this link for more information. The library will be open its regular hours, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., on the holiday.
In another related event, Douglas County and some partner organizations will host a screening of “It’s Basic,” a documentary that presents “an account of the benefits, criticisms and outcomes of giving unconditional money to people in need and examines whether Basic Income pilot programs eradicate child poverty and level the racial playing field through community-centric solutions,” according to a news release from the county.
That film screening and a panel of speakers are set for 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28 in the library’s auditorium, 707 Vermont St. Read more about that at this link.
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