Posts from 115th Street Library

On Monday, March 25th, about 12 kids gathered in the picture book section of the children's room in the 115th Street Library to test their taste buds.

How much do we rely on our five senses? What information do we get from them that we might take for granted or just don't notice? How do they work together to give us a more complete picture of our world and surroundings? The experiment intended to explore just that.

Generals, commanders, admirals, prime ministers, and rulers, East Africans greatly distinguished themselves in India. They wrote a story unparalleled in the rest of the world — that of enslaved Africans attaining the pinnacle of military and political authority not only in a foreign country but also on another continent. Come discover their extraordinary story in a groundbreaking exhibition at the Schomburg Center — on view from February 1 to July 6 — and on March 21, join Dr. Faeeza Jasdanwalla, a descendant of the African dynasty of Janjira for a conversation on this unique history.

New York Public Library is once again proud to partner with ReelAbilities, offering opportunities to see recent, high-quality films promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with differing abilities.

April is National Poetry Month, and I promised myself to read a poem a day. Some poets of the black experience immediately came to mind: Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Claude McKay, Sonia Sanchez, Audrey Lorde, to name a few. But then I decided to venture unto new territory and immerse myself into recent works.

If you haven't experienced, or perhaps even heard about, ReelAbilities, this may be the year to discover this unique festival, which is a film festival, but also so much more.

I must be out of my mind. What the heck am I doing here, on a Saturday afternoon, blindfolded inside a Staten Island library, grasping the shoulders of a total stranger in front of me? This is truly insane.