Malden Reads Presents A CITIZEN LYCEUM FORUM on UNDERSTANDING DEMOCRACY AND THE RIGHTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS

On Tuesday, April 3, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at the Malden Public Library.

This event is free and open to the public.

SPONSORING GROUPS: Facilitating and co-hosting the Citizen Lyceum

Malden Reads

Malden Public Library

Chinese Culture Connection

Malden C O R E – Community Organizing for Racial Equity

The American Association of Arab Women

THE MASSACHUSETTS CENTER FOR CIVIC EDUCATION PRESIDENT ROGER DESROSIERS will present important features and concepts of the Bill of Rights in an adult learning format to further our knowledge of American government. Individuals who are interested in furthering their understanding of the Bill of Rights in a working democracy will join in discussions and conversations with our featured speaker.

Call: Linda at: (781)321-2935 for more information.

Free performances highlight the immigrant experience: 1:30 p.m. March 29 and 10:30 a.m. March 30, Malden Public Library, 36 Salem St. Two free performances will be staged by students in The Immigrant Learning Center Theater Class at the Malden Public Library in the Maccario Room. On March 29, they will perform “Arriving,” and on March 30, they will perform “Lost in Translation.” Arriving explores the process of arriving to the United States as an immigrant through a series of vignettes. Lost in Translation is a compilation of misunderstandings caused by language barriers, which can be simultaneously funny and challenging. Both performances are drawn from the students’ life experiences. The performers are comprised of adult students from The Immigrant Learning Center Inc. who reside in Malden and surrounding communities. Both groups are directed and taught by The ILC teacher Sally Nobinger. The Immigrant Learning Center Theater Class began in 2003 to help immigrants improve their English skills through writing and performing plays.

Join us on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 6:30-8:30pm at the Malden Public Library’s first Malden Reads film screening for the 2018 book selection, The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas.  We will be showing I Am Not Your Negro narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.  This documentary is based on the James Baldwin’s unfinished book, Remember This House, highlighting Baldwin’s crucial and prophetic observations on race relations in America.

I Am Not Your Negro explores the history of racism in the United States through novelist James Baldwin’s eyes.  He recalls his meetings with Civil Rights leaders Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Medgar Evers.  Director Raoul Peck uses archival footage of James Baldwin’s conversations on race and he includes footage of depictions of African-Americans throughout American history.

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 98% approval rating and TIME Magazine writes that the film is “A compelling document that works as a mini-history of black racial identity in America from the mid- to late-20^th century and beyond.”  The Washington Post writes it is “a brilliant piece of filmic writing, one that bursts with fierce urgency,” and the Rolling Stone writes, “It’s unmissable and unforgettable.”

Don’t miss this special screening of I Am Not Your Negro.

A discussion of this year’s Malden Reads book selection, The Hate U Give, will follow the movie.  Movie times are approximate.  This film is free and open to the public and is accessible.  Please call the Malden Public Library at 781-324-0218 for more information.  Rated PG-13 (94 min.)

The Malden Public Library will be closing at 7 p.m. tonight (3/21/2018) due to the snow emergency.  We will reopen Thursday, March 22, at 9 a.m.

Join us Thursday, March 1 from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. for a Reception for our Rotating Art Exhibit Artist Rod Peterson! View his watercolor collection titled “A Few of My Favorite Places to Paint”. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Dr. John Hill presents “Adam Smith’s Equality and the Pursuit of Happiness”

On Wednesday, February 21, at 6:30 p.m., Dr. John E. Hill, award-winning Professor of Politics and History at Curry College, will present his new work, Adam Smith’s Equality and the Pursuit of Happiness published by Palgrave MacMillan, 2016.  This work examines Adam Smith’s main principles in Wealth of Nations as the basis for effective policymaking. Free market interpretations of Smith, the book argues, grossly misrepresent his thought, emphasizing only liberty and not also equality and justice. This book suggests policies that combine all three in order for happiness to be maximized.

Adam Smith, the “father of capitalism,” proposed several principles that would help mitigate or eliminate some of the problems we face as a nation today. Many assume that our current laissez-faire capitalism applies his principles. But, in contrast to the libertarianism of the United States, Smith’s recipe to increase everyone’s wealth and happiness was justice, liberty, and equality. His famous book, Wealth of Nations, provides several additional principles that might promote the good life for all. Adam Smith’s Equality and the Pursuit of Happiness explains these principles and offers examples of how they might be applied in the United States today.

Dr. Hill is the author of Revolutionary Values for a New Millennium (2000); Democracy, Equality and Justice: John Adams, Adam Smith and Political Economy (2007); and a revised and expanded second edition, Democracy, Equality and Justice: John Adams, Adam Smith, and Political Economy (2007).  Curry College has recognized Professor Hill as Person of the Year and for excellence in academic advising. In addition Curry has given him two Faculty Achievement Awards, and he has received a national award for advising. For 2007, Curry honored him by naming him Curry Fellow, the first ever named. As Fellow, he continued his research on John Adams and especially on Adam Smith, taught a course each semester, made guest appearances in various classes, and gave two public lectures. He contributes blogs to “The Public Humanist,” a blog project of Mass Humanities.  The program is free and open to all.   Malden Public Library, 36 Salem Street, Malden.  www.maldenpubliclibrary.org