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Couple explore African American legacy and Civil Rights Era
through poetry and song

Karol and James Brown explore African American perspectives on education and civil rights in America with two Thurston County performances of “The Kids in School With Me,” including interpretive readings, poetry, songs and images. The performances will be Wednesday, October 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tenino Timberland Library; and Saturday, October 29 at 11 a.m. at the Lacey Timberland Library.

These free presentations are designed for a teen to adult audience. They are part of Timberland Regional Library’s Timberland Reads Together: “The Secret Life of Bees,” by Sue Monk Kidd, a series of programs designed to promote a shared reading experience and to build community by exploring a book beyond its literary aspects and talking about its connections to real life. “The Secret Life of Bees,” by Sue Monk Kidd, is set in the South during the civil rights upheavals of the 1960s. Other programs in the series continue throughout October. Listings are online at www.trlib.org and at all Timberland libraries.

The Browns developed “The Kids in School With Me” around the legacy of African American contributions to society as well as the groundbreaking 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown vs. the Board of Education. The program covers the early 20th century, to the Harlem Renaissance, to contemporary times, and African Americans’ transition from less-than-equal status to legal equality.

An award-winning public speaker, Karol Brown is an educator, storyteller and community leader. James Brown is a tenor soloist in the Brotherhood Male Choir and the Gospel Choir at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Tacoma. “The Kids in School With Me” is a Humanities Washington Inquiring Mind presentation.

The Friends of the Lacey Timberland Library are sponsoring the Lacey program.

Revised 10/14/05