Five Towns, One Book: The Life of Lorraine Hansberry

Age Group:

Teens, Adults, Everyone
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Event Details

Livestream available now!

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Note: This event is currently full, but you can add your name to the waitlist on CURE's website! If you are registered but know you cannot attend, please cancel your reservation so someone else may have your spot. Thank you!

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Join us for the kickoff event of CURE's third annual Five Towns, One Book celebration! Croton is thrilled to be a part of the county-wide event this year, as we focus on the multifaceted and brilliant Lorraine Hansberry with a new, inspired biography of her life.

Dr. Soyica Diggs Colbert — Georgetown professor and author of Radical Vision, A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry — will participate in a roundtable chat with Lynda Jones of The Lorraine Hansberry Coalition in Croton, Tejash Sanchala, Executive Director of the Westchester Human Rights Commission, and Nicole Alifante of CURE. Dr. Colbert will answer questions from the audience and sign books afterwards.

This event is free and open to all, but registration is required and space is limited! Register now on CURE's website.

It will also be live-streamed on LMC Media’s YouTube page.

Borrow the book in print or download the ebook or e-audiobook via the Libby app! You can also purchase a copy from By The Dam Book (beforehand or at the event) for Dr. Colbert to sign.

The biography opens many entry points for discussion, reflection and learning as Ms. Hansberry was a writer, playwright, activist, feminist and part of the gay community at a time when it was not as accepted. She died of cancer at 35 years old but contributed more to the Freedom movement than most in her short life.

This is the kickoff for Five Towns, One Book! Additional events include:

  • March 2 at 7pm: Rye Free Reading Room – Hansberry: Civil Rights & Freedom Practices
  • March 18 at 2pm: Larchmont Public Library – A Raisin In The Sun, film screening & Talk Back
  • March 29 at 7pm: Harrison Public Library – Hansberry & Activism in Black Art
  • April 15 at 3pm: New Rochelle Public Library – Hansberry & A Theatrical Exploration of Redlining

SOYICA DIGGS COLBERT is the Idol Family Professor of African American Studies and Performing Arts at Georgetown University. Colbert’s award­-winning book, Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hans- berry. She has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support a residency at the Schomburg Center, Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Stanford University, Mellon Foundation, and the Robert W. Woodruff Library at Emory University. Colbert has also lectured nationally and internationally at universities, high schools, and middle schools as well as for civic and arts organizations. Colbert’s writing has been featured in the The New York Times, Washington Post, Public Books, Metrograph and American Theatre. She has been interviewed on NPR and commented for the New York Times, USA Today, CNN, and the Washington Post. She is an Associate Director at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. She has also served as a Creative Content Producer for The Public Theatre’s audio play, shadow/land. Her research interests span the 19th­21st centuries, from Harriet Tubman to Beyoncé, and from poetics to performance.

LYNDA JONES is a Co­chair of the Lorraine Hansberry Coalition of Croton on Hudson, NY. The Coalition’s mission is to celebrate the life of acclaimed playwright, author, and activist Lorraine Hansberry and her connection with Croton on­ Hudson. The Coalition is a volunteer­-driven group that creates innovative and inclusive opportunities that reflect the values and ideals by which Hansberry led her life. Lynda is also a versatile, accomplished leader with experience collaborating with management and governing boards to develop strategies supporting corporate objectives and missions. She recently stepped down after over a decade as the Vice President for Human Resources and Strategic Planning for Historic Hudson Valley, one of Westchester County’s most prominent cultural organizations. While there, in addition to serving on the corporate leadership team, she directed all aspects of human capital management and planning and led a series of successful multi­disciplinary efficiency projects.

Lynda has held executive positions in the for­-profit, government, and non-profit sectors, including Regional Director for Administration with Merit Behavioral Healthcare, Deputy Commissioner for Administration with the NYS Department of Labor, and Associate Executive Director with Services for the Underserved. She has also served as an independent consultant, designing and implementing systems resulting in the enhanced performance of individuals, teams, and organizations. A believer in the power of education, Lynda served six years as an elected member of the Board of Trustees of the high-­performing Croton Harmon School District. Lynda earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bernard M. Baruch College of CUNY and a master’s degree in public administration, with a concentration in public finance, from New York University.

Sponsored by CURE (The Coalition for Understanding Racism through Education), The Lorraine Hansberry Coalition, and these five community libraries: Croton, Harrison, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, and Rye. With generous support from the Westchester County Board of Legislators.