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VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//sebbo.net//ical-generator//EN
NAME:DC Public Library
X-WR-CALNAME:DC Public Library
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:d7f3a20d-0c21-42e4-ae9d-563efb96a229
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20260801T121318Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260308T133000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260308T163000
SUMMARY:Authors\, Activists\, Artists Speak! 
LOCATION:Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library - Central Library\nMartin
  Luther King Jr. Memorial Library - Central Library
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Martin Luther King Jr. Mem
 orial Library - Central Library;X-APPLE-RADIUS=10;X-TITLE=Martin Luther Ki
 ng Jr. Memorial Library - Central Library:geo:38.8986823,-77.024871
GEO:38.8986823;-77.024871
DESCRIPTION:Celebrate Women's History Month at the Martin Luther King Jr. 
 Memorial Library for a cultural gathering that honors and celebrates Black
  women through the lens of Herstory\, past and present.\n\n.\nhttps://dcli
 brary.libnet.info/event/15855533
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:<p>At this pivotal moment\, the gathering aff
 irms Black women as vital architects of American memory\, imagination\, an
 d change.</p>\n<p><strong>Authors\, Activists\, Artists Speak! Writing Our
  Story\, Righting Our History</strong>&nbsp\;invites you to gather on <str
 ong>International Women&rsquo\;s Day</strong> for a vibrant afternoon cele
 brating Black women as authors\, activists\, and artists whose voices cont
 inue to shape culture\, memory\, and change.</p>\n<p>Join us for an author
  talk with <strong>Tiffany D. Cross</strong> on her new book <em>Love\, Me
 : A Letter to Black Women in a Toxic Country\, Career\, and Relationship <
 /em>and&nbsp\;a panel conversation featuring<strong>&nbsp\;</strong><em>Wa
 shington Informer</em>&nbsp\;publisher&nbsp\;<strong>Denise Rolark Barnes<
 /strong>\, Howard University Dean and author&nbsp\;<strong>Dana A. William
 s</strong>\, Black Women&rsquo\;s Roundtable convener&nbsp\;<strong>Melani
 e L. Campbell</strong>&nbsp\;and multidisciplinary artist&nbsp\;<strong>Ni
 na Angela Mercer</strong>\, followed by lightning talks offering reflectio
 ns\, short storytelling\, and calls to action from biographer&nbsp\;<stron
 g>A&rsquo\;Lelia Bundle</strong>s\, novelist&nbsp\;<strong>Diane McKinney-
 Whetstone</strong>\, memoirist&nbsp\;<strong>Bernardine Watson</strong>\, 
 and economist&nbsp\;<strong>Rhonda Sharpe</strong>.</p>\n<p>The afternoon 
 also features spoken word and artistic expressions\, &ldquo\;In the Loop&r
 dquo\; video presentations\, a bookshop with titles by participating autho
 rs\, and a storytelling station for shared reflection and community connec
 tion.</p>\n<p><strong>Register today and bring a friend!</strong></p>\n<p>
 <strong></strong></p>\n<p><strong><img src="https://static.libnet.info/fro
 ntend-images/editor/dclibrary/AU_Photo_LOVE_ME_Tiffany_Cross_Medium.jpeg" 
 width="200" height="267" alt="" style="float: left\; margin: 0px 20px 20px
  0px\;" />Tiffany D. Cross</strong> is a journalist\, TV and host\, author
 \, and speaker. She is the author of &ldquo\;<em>Love\, Me: A Letter to Bl
 ack Women in a Toxic Country\, Career\, and Relationship.&rdquo\;</em> Tif
 fany previously hosted&nbsp\;<em>The Cross Connection</em>&nbsp\;on MSNBC 
 where she averaged 4.6 million viewers a month. She is also a former co-ho
 st of iHeart Media&rsquo\;s&nbsp\;<em>Native Land Pod</em>\, which debuted
  in 2024 on Apple as the number one downloaded podcast in America across a
 ll categories\, where she would break down news and culture of the week.</
 p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>
 \n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p
 >\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><img src="https://static.libnet.inf
 o/frontend-images/editor/dclibrary/Denise_IMG_4938.jpg" width="200" height
 ="271" alt="" style="float: left\; margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px\;" /><strong>
 </strong><strong>Denise Rolark Barnes</strong> is the publisher of The Was
 hington Informer\, the influential Black-owned newspaper founded by her fa
 ther\, Dr. Calvin W. Rolark\, Sr. in 1964. She joined the paper in 1980 an
 d became publisher in 1994\, guiding its growth as a modern multimedia new
 s and community institution in Washington\, D.C. President of the Washingt
 on Informer Charities which promotes literacy\, she is recognized for civi
 c leadership tied to Black press legacy and community impact.</p>\n<p></p>
 \n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>
 </p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\; &nbsp\;&nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;&n
 bsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p
 >\n<p><img src="https://static.libnet.info/frontend-images/editor/dclibrar
 y/Dana_IMG_4893.jpg" width="200" height="200" alt="" style="float: left\; 
 margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px\;" /></p>\n<p><strong>Dr. Dana A. Williams</stro
 ng> is the Dean of the Howard University Graduate School and Professor of&
 nbsp\; African-American literature. She serves on several boards and is th
 e immediate past president of the Toni Morrison Society and the Modern Lan
 guage Society. Her latest book is Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer&rsquo\
 ;s Legendary Editorship (Amistad 2025)\, a study of Toni Morrison&rsquo\;s
  editorial legacy and influence.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n
 <p>&nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;&nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n
 <p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;&nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\;&nbsp\;</p>\n<p
 >&nbsp\;</p>\n<p><img src="https://static.libnet.info/frontend-images/edit
 or/dclibrary/Melanie_IMG_4891.jpg" width="200" height="205" alt="" style="
 float: left\; margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px\;" /><strong>Melanie L. Campbell</
 strong> is an activist and the President &amp\; CEO of the National Coalit
 ion on Black Civic Participation and convener of the Black Women&rsquo\;s 
 Roundtable. Campbell is widely known as a coalition builder and is highly 
 successful in leading and organizing large-scale civic engagement campaign
 s and advancing voting rights and democratic participation. Campbell has b
 een featured in ESSENCE\, Washington Post\, USA Today\, Washington Informe
 r\, and other publications.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></
 p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\;&nbsp\;</
 p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\;&nbsp\;</p>\n<p></
 p>\n<p><img src="https://static.libnet.info/frontend-images/editor/dclibra
 ry/Nina_IMG_4895.jpg" width="200" height="224" alt="" style="float: left\;
  margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px\;" /><strong>Dr. Nina Angela Mercer</strong> is
  a multidisciplinary artist\, playwright\, and scholar. She has taught acr
 oss disciplines\, currently at Howard University and is co-founder and exe
 cutive director of Ocean Ana Rising\, a nonprofit arts education organizat
 ion. Her plays have been developed and presented in notable cultural space
 s\, and her practice bridges scholarship\, theater\, and community-rooted 
 arts work. Dr. Mercer&rsquo\;s latest publication is The Double\, a choreo
 drama and a choreopoem.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\
 ;&nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\;
  &nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<h4>Performances by</h4>\n<p></p>\n<p><img 
 src="https://static.libnet.info/frontend-images/editor/dclibrary/Ariana_IM
 G_4933.jpg" width="200" height="193" alt="" style="float: left\; margin: 0
 px 20px 20px 0px\;" /><strong>ariana kija matondo</strong> (they/she) is a
  queer disabled Tanzanian-American poet\, editor\, and teacher based in Ta
 mpa\, Florida. They are the winner of the Zora Neale Hurston Award for poe
 try (2025) and named a finalist for the Disquiet Prize for poetry (2025). 
 She is also a previous recipient of the Sundress Publications Fellowship (
 2025)\, Vermont Studio Center Fellowship (2024)\, Light for Public Health 
 Poetry Prize (2024)\, and the Bettye Newman Poetry Prize (2024-2025). They
  are currently pursuing an MFA in poetry at the University of South Florid
 a.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p
 >\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nb
 sp\;</p>\n<h4>StoryTime! Presenters</h4>\n<p></p>\n<p><strong><img src="ht
 tps://static.libnet.info/frontend-images/editor/dclibrary/ALelia_Bundles_P
 hotograph_by_Jimell_Greene.jpg" width="200" height="267" alt="" style="flo
 at: left\; margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px\;" />A&rsquo\;Lelia Bundles</strong> 
 is an award-winning author\, journalist\, and historian and the great-grea
 t-granddaughter of Madam C. J. Walker. Her latest book is Joy Goddess: A&r
 squo\;Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance (2025)\, a biography of Walk
 er&rsquo\;s daughter A&rsquo\;Lelia Walker and her role as a cultural patr
 on during the Harlem Renaissance-era. Bundles is also the author of On Her
  Own Ground and is the founder of the Madam Walker Family Archives. She ha
 s worked in network television news for thirty years.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p
 >\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\
 n<p>&nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\
 ; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><br /><strong><img src="https://static.libnet.i
 nfo/frontend-images/editor/dclibrary/Diane_IMG_4935.jpg" width="200" heigh
 t="287" alt="" style="float: left\; margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px\;" />Diane M
 cKinney-Whetstone</strong> is an award-winning novelist celebrated for ric
 hly drawn stories of Black life\, family\, and community\, often rooted in
  Philadelphia. Her most recent novel is Family Spirit (Amistad 2025). She 
 is also the author of acclaimed earlier works including Tumbling and Our G
 en\, and she has been recognized with the American Library Association&rsq
 uo\;s Black Caucus Literary Award for Fiction (among other honors).</p>\n<
 p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>
 </p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;&nbsp\;
 </p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;&nbsp\;</
 p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><
 /p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;&nbsp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><strong><img src="https://
 static.libnet.info/frontend-images/editor/dclibrary/Rhonda_IMG_4890.jpg" w
 idth="200" height="200" alt="" style="float: left\; margin: 0px 20px 20px 
 0px\;" />Dr. Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe</strong> is an economist and the founde
 r and president of the Women&rsquo\;s Institute for Science\, Equity and R
 ace (WISER)\, a research institute focused on addressing the economic\, so
 cial\, cultural\, and political well-being of women of color through bette
 r\, disaggregated data. She has held national leadership roles\, including
  serving as editor for The Review of Black Political Economy and past&nbsp
 \; president of the National Economic Association.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n
 <p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\;&nbsp\;</p>\n<p>&nb
 sp\;</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>&nbsp\; &nbsp\;</p>\n<p><br /><strong><img src="http
 s://static.libnet.info/frontend-images/editor/dclibrary/Bernadine_IMG_4934
 .jpg" width="200" height="300" alt="" style="float: left\; margin: 0px 20p
 x 20px 0px\;" />Bernardine &ldquo\;Dine&rdquo\; Watson</strong> is a Washi
 ngton\, D.C.&ndash\;based nonfiction writer and poet.&nbsp\; Her poetry ha
 s also appeared in numerous journals. Her memoir\, Transplant: A Memoir\, 
 won the 2023 Washington Writers&rsquo\; Publishing House prize for nonfict
 ion/creative nonfiction and was selected by NPR as one of its &ldquo\;Book
 s We Love&rdquo\;. It has also been recognized by Poets &amp\; Writers as 
 an over-50 debut spotlight. Watson&rsquo\;s work powerfully chronicles her
  decades-long experience with kidney disease and transplantation.</p>\n<p>
 &nbsp\;</p>\nhttps://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/15855533
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