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How Incarceration Affects Families: Author Talk - NEW

Khadijah Shabazz, Michelle Alexander & Gina Clayton-Johnson

2023-06-13 18:30:00 2023-06-13 19:45:00 America/New_York How Incarceration Affects Families: Author Talk - NEW This is a free Adult School program. When registering, you will be taken to the Adult School website. Main Library - Auditorium, Conference Room

Tuesday, June 13
6:30pm - 7:45pm

Add to Calendar 2023-06-13 18:30:00 2023-06-13 19:45:00 America/New_York How Incarceration Affects Families: Author Talk - NEW This is a free Adult School program. When registering, you will be taken to the Adult School website. Main Library - Auditorium, Conference Room

Main Library

Auditorium, Conference Room

This is a free Adult School program. When registering, you will be taken to the Adult School website.

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED but we will accommodate walk-ins.

Inspirational speaker Khadijah Shabazz will engage in a three-way conversation about her debut memoir, “I Didn’t Sign Up for This: My Redemptive Story of Memories, Mayhem & Murder” with bestselling author Michelle Alexander ("The New Jim Crow") and Gina Clayton-Jones, executive director of Essie Justice Group, a nonprofit that advocates for the families of the incarcerated.

After the author reads briefly from her memoir, the conversation partners will discuss Shabazz’s book, which inevitably touches on the effects of mass incarceration and police brutality on partners and children, and the importance of women bearing witness and finding a public voice. A live Q&A session with the participants, and then a book sale and signing will follow. 

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS

Khadijah Shabazz is a public speaker and global advocate for women and children affected by incarceration. She is the mother of two biological children, five adopted children, and twenty-five foster children, some of whom were infants prenatally exposed to addiction or small children with behavioral difficulties. In addition to her work in the foster care system, Shabazz has often been called on to support families affected by police violence. She currently lives outside of Los Angeles. “I Didn’t Sign Up for This” is her first book.

Michelle Alexander is a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate, legal scholar and author of “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” — the New York Times bestselling book that helped to transform the national debate on racial and criminal justice in the United States. 

Gina Clayton-Johnson is a Black feminist organizer, writer, and the founder and executive director of Essie Justice Group, the nation’s leading advocacy organization of women with incarcerated loved ones. Gina has spent over 15 years advocating for Black communities and is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards. Gina is a leader of the Movement for Black Lives Policy Table (where she served as the central architect of the BREATHE Act), is a founding Advisory Council member of the National Bail Out Collective, and a leading advocate for bail reform in California. She holds a BA from the University of Southern California and a JD from Harvard Law School. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two young children.

ABOUT THE BOOK
“I Didn't Sign Up For This: My Redemptive Story of Memories, Mayhem & Murder” by Khadijah Shabazz is an engaging, bracingly candid memoir by a woman thrown into a life of isolation after her husband was convicted of murder. Shabazz unpacks the adverse effects of incarceration on loved ones —often hidden and damaging—to tell a personal story of recovery from shame into a life of advocacy and support for the most vulnerable of society. Now a public speaker on prison reform, police brutality, and foster care, Shabazz recounts how life sometimes threw her down a well, but how through Islamic faith, tenacity, and guidance, she was able to rebuild her life, climbing to new heights. 

As Shabazz herself says, “This memoir is for every woman playing the game of life with a hand of cards she would much rather throw back in.”

AGE GROUP: | Adults |

EVENT TYPE: | Book Discussion |

TAGS: | social justice | book discussion | authors | African American |

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Mon, May 12, 3:00pm - 5:30pm
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Tue, May 13, 4:00pm - 7:30pm
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Join us for Pokémon Club -- you can battle your friends on Switch or using your cards! Don't have a deck? Don't worry, we have premade sets ready to go! You will have to bring your own Switch.
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Wed, May 14, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
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Thu, May 15, 11:00am - 2:00pm
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Mon, May 19, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
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Mon, May 19, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Main Library - Auditorium
The Board of Trustees meets to discuss issues of governance of the Library. Meetings are open to the public in accordance with the Open... more
The Board of Trustees meets to discuss issues of governance of the Library. Meetings are open to the public in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act.

Tue, May 20, 4:00pm - 7:30pm
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Wed, May 21, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
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High school juniors and their families will learn how to use the summer productively to create a compelling college application.
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Thu, May 22, 11:00am - 2:00pm
Main Library - Staff Instruction Room
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Sat, May 24, 7:30am - 8:30am
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Mon, May 26, 3:00pm - 5:30pm
Main Library - Teen Room
Come hang out with your friends in the Teen Room and make bracelets!
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Tue, May 27, 4:00pm - 7:30pm
Main Library - Staff Instruction Room
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Wed, May 28, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Main Library - Tower Room
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Wed, May 28, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Online
This is a paid Adult School Class. When registering, you will be taken to the Adult School Website.
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Thu, May 29, 11:00am - 2:00pm
Main Library - Staff Instruction Room
Margarette (they/them) can assist you with a variety of services. Walk-ins: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Appointments: 12 p.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:30 p.m.

Sat, May 31, 7:30am - 8:30am
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Sat, May 31, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Main Library - Classroom
andrea schultz Jessanne Collins

Mon, Jun 02, 3:00pm - 5:30pm
Main Library - Teen Room
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Tue, Jun 03, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Anderson Park
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Wed, Jun 04, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Online
This is a paid Adult School Class. When registering, you will be taken to the Adult School Website.
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Mon, Jun 09, 3:00pm - 5:30pm
Main Library - Teen Room
Come hang out with your friends in the Teen Room and make bracelets!
No registration required.

Wed, Jun 11, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Main Library
A virtual, lively, and informative discussion on today’s financial markets and how they might fit into your portfolio.

Wed, Jun 11, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Main Library - Storytime Room
Join us for Pokémon Club -- you can battle your friends on Switch or using your cards! Don't have a deck? Don't worry, we have premade... more
Join us for Pokémon Club -- you can battle your friends on Switch or using your cards! Don't have a deck? Don't worry, we have premade sets ready to go! You will have to bring your own Switch.
This event is full

Wed, Jun 11, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
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Thu, Jun 12, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Main Library - Tower Room
Join us for our monthly Teen Book Club. Each month, we'll read books from a different theme or genre and discuss! We meet on the second... more
Join us for our monthly Teen Book Club. Each month, we'll read books from a different theme or genre and discuss! We meet on the second Thursday of every month.
Registration is required.

Mon, Jun 16, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Main Library - Auditorium
set up for board meeting

Mon, Jun 16, 3:00pm - 5:30pm
Main Library - Teen Room
Come hang out with your friends in the Teen Room and make bracelets!
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Tue, Jun 17, 11:00am - 1:00pm
Main Library - Tower Room
Free drop-in wellness screenings courtesy of Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center.

Wed, Jun 18, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
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Mon, Jun 23, 3:00pm - 5:30pm
Main Library - Teen Room
Come hang out with your friends in the Teen Room and make bracelets!
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Mon, Jun 30, 3:00pm - 5:30pm
Main Library - Teen Room
Come hang out with your friends in the Teen Room and make bracelets!
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Mon, Jul 21, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Main Library - Auditorium
set up for board meeting