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This free series, "Cultural Conversations at the Center," features intellectually stimulating programs with thought and industry leaders, scholars, educators, filmmakers, artists and others whose work celebrates and illuminates known and unknown aspects of Black history and culture.

​PAST EVENTS:

• April 2, 2020: The African American Struggle for Library Equality by Dr. Aisha Johnson-Jones - ​Dr. Aisha Johnson-Jones' work reveals the nearly forgotten philanthropic efforts of Julius Rosenwald, a courageous Jewish American human rights activist and former president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, who raised the literacy level of Black youth in the years 1917-1938 through libraries which he established in many of the 5,300 rural schools and buildings that he built in 15 Southern states. Dr. Johnson-Jones is a librarian and educator of Southern intellectual history and is the Supervisory Archivist at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Passionate about library equality, she has created programs for the professional development of African American library staff as well as her Breeding Scholars Initiative that introduces high school and college students to archival research. Her talk will be followed by an audience question-and-answer segment.
  
  
• ​ March 5, 2020: Contested Bodies: Pregnancy, Childrearing, and Slavery in Jamaica - Dr. Sasha Turner - In honor of Women’s History Month, Dr. Sasha Turner will discuss her award-winning book which examines the maternal health practices of enslaved Jamaican women. Dr. Turner reveals the little-known reproductive history of Black women in bondage, examining how they engaged in "maternal resistance" against their colonial oppressors.


• February 6, 2020: Love and Positivity - My Personal Story Living, Winning, and THRIVING with HIV - a motivational talk with Morris Anthony Singletary. Singletary shared his personal story of living, winning and thriving with HIV. His motivational talk was followed by an audience question and answer segment.


• December 5, 2019: Beyond Rosie the Riveter: Black Women's Participation in WWII - a discussion and screening of the documentary SixTripleEight. Confronted with racism and sexism from their own leadership and troops, the African American women of the SixTripleEight served with honor and distinction. By war’s end, the SixTripleEight had cleared over 17 million pieces of backlogged mail, ensuring the troops stayed in touch with their loved ones back home.


• November 7, 2019: Dan Ringo discussed his new book, Airman to CEO: From the Boiler Room to the Boardroom, in which the well-respected Detroit executive shares his inspirational story of how the military took an aimless teenaged-father and set him on an upward trajectory to become the CEO of his own company. Veteran and Broward County Library Director Kelvin Watson sat down with Dan Ringo for a conversation about life after the military, creating successful career paths, and maintaining a commitment to a life of service. View full presentation (video)


• October 3, 2019: Dr. Paul Ortiz discussed the topic of centering Black and Latinx contributions to American history. Dr. Ortiz is author of An African American and Latinx History of the United States. View full presentation (video)


• September 9, 2019: Dr. Stefan Bradley author of Upending the Ivory Tower discussed Black student activism. View full presentation (video)

Sponsorship for the series is provided by the Friends of the African American Research Library and Cultural Center. For additional information on the upcoming series, contact Makiba Foster at mjfoster@broward.org or 954-357-6176.






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