One Book One Springfield: Detailed Events Schedule

Detailed Events Schedule

There are many ways to participate in One Book, One Springfield. In addition to book discussion groups, you may enjoy the following events.

Kick-off Event – Tuesday, March 29 @ 4:00 p.m. – Central Library: Springfield Mayor Charles V. Ryan will be kicking off the city's first-ever One Book, One Springfield celebration in the Central Library's main floor rotunda on Tuesday, March 29 at 4:00 p.m. Refreshments and music by the Street Beat drum group will follow brief remarks at the event to be held at 220 State Street, Springfield.
Mayor's Proclamation: One Book, One Springfield Project
Why one book and why Springfield? We live in a time when individuality, choice and diversity have become our mottoes. People living in Springfield, as in so many other cities in the United States, hail from many different countries, speak a variety of languages, hold different religious beliefs, and have skin tones of many hues. People of Springfield are also different in terms of their level of income, educational achievement and social status. So when a phenomenon comes along that allows all of these differences to be taken off the table, for everyone to be on common ground, we relish the opportunity.
This is the philosophy behind the One Book project, which was initiated by the Washington Center for the Book in 1998. Everyone in a city is encouraged to read or listen to the same book within a certain time period. Then people gather in groups -- whether in libraries, at bookstores, in shopping malls, in living rooms, in houses of worship, in the workplace, in cyberspace, at community organizations, at the supermarket – and they discuss the book. The many communities that have since launched their own One Book projects have found that reading and discussing one book brought people together and helped create a sense of community through shared reading.
For Springfield's first One Book, One Springfield celebration, the community advisory committee has selected The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, by James McBride. Everyone who lives, works, or attends school in Springfield is invited to participate. Students, workers, parents, neighbors, and friends –- everyone has the chance to read or listen to the same book, discuss their own views about what they read, attend lectures and panel discussions about the book's themes, see films related to the book, and attend concerts that celebrate jazz, a major influence in the author's life. James McBride, the author of this exceptional book, will be visiting Springfield on May 17, to talk about his work and perform with his jazz band.
All One Book activities are free and open to the public. There are many copies of the title available to borrow in every branch of the Springfield City Library, or to purchase at Edwards Books (in Tower Square) at a 10% discount upon presentation of a library card.
Jazz Concert – Wednesday, March 30 @ 6:30 p.m. – Brightwood Branch Library: Joe Velez and Latin Jazz will present a free concert at the Brightwood Branch Library, 359 Plainfield Street, Springfield, on Wednesday, March 30 at 6:30 p.m. The concert is inspired by this year's One Book, One Springfield selection, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. The book's author, James McBride, is a jazz musician and an award-winning composer as well as a writer. This performance is the first in a series of four concerts that will celebrate the influence of jazz in James McBride's life.
Joe Velez, a Community Music School of Springfield faculty member, is considered one of the primary exponents of Latin Jazz in Western Massachusetts. Mr. Velez is a gifted pianist, composer, and arranger and has played extensively throughout New England with many major Latin ensembles.
The Life and Legacy of Art Blakey – Tuesday, April 5 @ 4:30 p.m. – Central Library: Emmett C. Goods, from the faculty of the Community Music School of Springfield, will present a free public lecture, "The Life and Legacy of Art Blakey," in the Community Room of Springfield's Central Library at 220 State Street on Tuesday, April 5 at 4:30 p.m. For nearly four decades, Blakey and his band, the Jazz Messengers, served as a training ground and launching pad for hundreds of aspiring jazz musicians. The lecture is inspired by this year's One Book, One Springfield selection, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. The book's author, James McBride, is a jazz musician and award-winning composer as well as a writer. Blakey was one of the mainstays on the jazz scene during McBride's formative years.
The lecture speaker Emmett C. Goods is a graduate of the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. He also studied at the University of Pittsburgh and the Berklee College of Music. He furthered his studies with a number of distinguished trombonists including Jay Ashby and Steve Davis.
The Long Walk Home – Saturday, April 9 @ 2:00 p.m. – Central Library: Powerful feature film about the Montgomery bus boycott.
Set in Montgomery Alabama in 1955, two years before James McBride was born, The Long Walk Home is a powerful film about the birth of civil rights in the South. The film depicts the effects of the Montgomery bus boycott on two women: Miriam, a suburban housewife played by Sissy Spacek, and her housekeeper Odessa, played by Whoopi Goldberg. Odessa, a hard-working, religious, unobtrusive mother of three, is deeply committed to political emancipation. Supporting the bus boycott means a blistering nine-mile walk to and from work, which she undertakes without complaint. Despite the warnings of her closed-minded husband and bigoted brother-in-law, Miriam begins secretly driving Odessa to work twice a week. As the barrier between the two women breaks down, Miriam risks committing herself further to the cause. This film offers a penetrating look back at segregated Southern society, and a keen illustration of the courage and strength required of those who take a bold moral stand.
Rated PG.

Jazz Concert – Saturday, April 16 @ 1:00 p.m. – Sixteen Acres Branch Library: Montenia Shider and CMSS Children's Gospel Choir, "Gifted."
Montenia Shider and the Community Music School of Springfield Children's Gospel Choir, "Gifted," will perform at the Sixteen Acres Branch of the Springfield City Library, 1187 Parker Street, on Saturday, April 16 at 1 p.m. The concert is inspired by this year's One Book, One Springfield selection, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. The book's author, James McBride, is a jazz musician and an award-winning composer as well as a writer. This performance is the second in a series of four concerts that will celebrate the influence of jazz in James McBride's life.
Montenia Shider is one of the area's leading jazz vocalists. She has performed in jazz clubs and concert halls in Los Angeles, New England, Estonia, Lapland, Finland and Athens, Greece.
Ovations Program at Springfield Technical Community College - Friday, April 22 @ 9:05, 10:10 & 11:15 a.m.: Celebration of The Color of Water through the Ovations program on Friday , April 22 (9:05, 10:10, and 11:15 a.m.) – Scibelli Hall, 7th floor. For more information, contact Tamson Ely, Dean of Library Services, at 755-4531.

Step Up Springfield: Helping Our Children Succeed – Monday, April 25 @ 6:00 p.m. – Central Library: A panel discussion on educational success.
As part of One Book, One Springfield, Springfield City Library's Central Branch, located at 220 State Street, will hold a panel discussion called "Step Up Springfield: Helping Our Children Succeed" on Monday, April 25 at 6 p.m. in the Community Room. James McBride's The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, this year's One Book choice, is inspiring in its story of educational achievement. Despite great adversity, all twelve of the McBride/Jordan children graduated from college, many from graduate school as well. This free panel discussion explores ways Springfield's youth can match the achievement of James McBride and his siblings.
Cheryl Gorski of Step Up Springfield will facilitate the panel. Panelists include: Charlie Contant, Chestnut Accelerated Middle School PTO, East Forest Park Civic Association; Evelyn Mulero, Puerto Rican Cultural Center; Jill Paul, Girl Scouts of the Pioneer Valley; and Tahon Ross, Springfield Park Department.
Jazz Concert – Sunday, May 1 @ 2:00 p.m. – Central Library: Emmett Goods and CMSS Faculty Jazz Ensemble.
Emmett Goods and Community Music School of Springfield Jazz Ensemble will perform at the Central Branch of the Springfield City Library, 220 State Street, on Sunday, May 1 at 2 p.m. in the Community Room. The concert is inspired by this year's One Book, One Springfield selection, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. The book's author, James McBride, is a jazz musician and an award-winning composer as well as a writer. This performance is the third in a series of four concerts that will celebrate the influence of jazz in James McBride's life.
Emmett C. Goods is a graduate of the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. He also studied at the University of Pittsburgh and the Berklee College of Music. He furthered his studies with a number of distinguished trombonists including Jay Ashby and Steve Davis.
The Color of Water and the Role of Religion – Monday, May 2 @ 6:00 p.m. – Central Library: Panel discusses complex religious issues raised by the book.
As part of One Book, One Springfield, Springfield City Library's Central Branch, located at 220 State Street, will hold a panel discussion called "The Color of Water and the Role of Religion" on Monday, May 2 at 6 p.m. in the Community Room. In this panel, several leading religious leaders in the Springfield community, representing different faiths, will gather to discuss some of the more challenging issues raised in James McBride's The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. Among the questions up for discussion will be the tension between an uplifting, transformative religious faith that enables self-awareness and self-expression, on the one hand, and the historical cycles of religious intolerance, experienced throughout the world, and certainly in this country, on the other. The panel will look at the role of religion in the secular lives of Jews and African-Americans, and at how one might go about describing "the color of water." Panelists include Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, St. John's Congregational Church; Rabbi Herbert N. Schwartz, Temple Beth El; and Rev. Martin Montonye, Baystate Medical Center. Joshua Bogin of the Springfield Public Schools will facilitate the panel.

Films – Saturday, May 7 @ 2:00 p.m. – Central Library: Two documentaries: one traces the history of Jews in America, the other shows students in an urban high school triumphing against strong odds as they mount a production of Our Town.
"Cinema at Central," a monthly film series, continues on Saturday afternoons at the Springfield City Library's Central Branch, located at 220 State Street. For May, the series joins with One Book, One Springfield to screen two documentaries on Saturday, May 7 starting at 2 p.m. The first film provides background to help in understanding this year's chosen book, James McBride's The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, while the second explores similar themes in a contemporary setting. First up is HERITAGE - CIVILIZATION AND THE JEWS: The Golden Land, 1654-1932, a WNET production which explores the history and contributions of the Jews in the new world from colonial times to the Depression, and provides background on the immigration and experiences of James McBride's Jewish mother and her family. This will be followed at 3:15 by a showing of OT: OUR TOWN, the story of an against-all-odds drama production at Compton California's Dominguez High, a school best known for its basketball team and gang activity. With no budget or stage, English teacher Katherine Borek rallies the reluctant cast to produce a Compton-style rendition of Thornton Wilder's classic play. In tailoring the production, the students realize that their town is more than its stereotypes, and that they are capable of much more than they ever believed. Their experience is a testament to the transforming power of art, pride, community, and visionary leadership, and in many ways echoes the achievement of James McBride and his siblings. This film is unrated, but contains strong language.
Jazz Concert – Saturday, May 14 @ 1:00 p.m. – Forest Park Branch Library: CMSS Charles Majid Scholarship Jazz Ensemble.
The Charles Majid Greenlee Scholarship Jazz Ensemble from the Community Music School of Springfield will perform at the Forest Park Branch Library, 380 Belmont Avenue, on Saturday, May 14 at 1:00 p.m. This premier student group is under the direction of Vishnu Wood, a renowned jazz double bassist who has toured internationally with The Randy Weston Trio for more than 15 years. He has a rich background in World Music and has taught at SUNY/Purchase and the Westchester Conservatory of Music.
The concert is inspired by this year's One Book, One Springfield selection, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. The book's author, James McBride, is a jazz musician and an award-winning composer as well as a writer. This performance is the final in a series of four concerts that will celebrate the influence of jazz in James McBride's life.
The Colors of Family: Exploring Bi- and Transracial Identities – Monday, May 16 @ 6:30 p.m. – Central Library: Lecture by teacher, writer, and workshop facilitator John Raible.
As part of One Book, One Springfield, John Raible, M.Ed., will present a lecture entitled "The Colors of Family: Exploring Bi- and Transracial Identities" at Springfield City Library's Central Branch, located at 220 State Street, on Monday, May 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room. Issues of racial identity, prominent in James McBride's The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, are explored by John Raible, an experienced adoptive parent, multicultural educator, and adult adoptee who was transracially adopted in 1963. He grew up in a liberal Unitarian Universalist family that was active in the Civil Rights Movement, with a white brother and sister who were not adopted. After college, John became a public school teacher specializing in multicultural education. He taught for sixteen years in three very different communities: the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, in Compton, California, and in the college town of Ithaca, New York. John has made numerous appearances in the media, at conferences, and in the documentary film "Struggle for Identity: Issues in Transracial Adoption." Currently, John is completing a doctorate at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Along with teaching a course in multicultural education at UMass, John leads workshops on diversity, on topics including transracial adoption and foster care, multiracial families, adoption issues in school, family diversity, and multicultural education.
Author Visit & Jazz Performance – Tuesday, May 17 @ 6:00 p.m. – Christ Church Cathedral, Chestnut St.: James McBride will give a talk at 6:00; a performance with his jazz band follows at 7:00.
Seating is limited, so this program is free but ticketed. Tickets will be offered first to those that attend one of the book discussion sessions or study the book in class. Following the last scheduled discussion group on May 11, tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis by calling 413-263-6828, ext. 294.

James McBride, author of The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, this year's One Book , One Springfield choice, will visit Springfield on Tuesday, May 17. At 6 p.m., he will give a lecture at Christ Church Cathedral, 35 Chestnut Street, followed by a performance with his jazz band at 7 p.m. This lecture/concert event is free and open to the public, but because seating is limited, the event will be ticketed. Tickets are being offered first to those who attend a book discussion on The Color of Water . Following the final book discussion session on May 11, remaining tickets will be available on a first-come basis by calling (413) 263-6828, ext. 294. Parking for the event will be available in the library's State Street lot, in the two Quadrangle lots on Edwards Street, and on Elliott Street at St. Michael's Cathedral.
James McBride is an award-winning writer and composer. His critically acclaimed memoir, The Color of Water, won the 1997 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Literary Excellence, was an ALA Notable Book of the Year, and spent more than two years on The New York Times bestseller list. The Color of Water has sold more than 1.7 million copies in the United States alone and is now required reading at numerous colleges and high schools across the country. It is a perennial favorite among book clubs and community-wide reading groups, and has been published in 16 languages.
McBride is a former staff writer for The Washington Post, People Magazine , and Boston Globe. His work has also appeared in Essence, Rolling Stone and The New York Times . Aside from his literary honors, McBride is also a musician. He has written songs for Anita Baker, Grover Washington Jr., Purafe, Gary Burton , and even for the television character Barney . He is the recipient of several awards for his work as a composer in musical theater, including the 1996 American Arts and Letters Richard Rodgers Award , the 1996 ASCAP Richard Rodgers Horizons Award, and the American Music Festival's 1993 Stephen Sondheim Award. His 2003 jazz CD/documentary project, "The Process" was seen on Comcast Cable nationwide in fall 2003.
McBride has been featured in People, Newsweek, Savoy and USA Today. He has appeared on several national radio and television shows including The Rosie O'Donnell Show, NPR's All Things Considered, Fresh Air, Morning Edition, and in major news outlets internationally. James is a native New Yorker and graduate of New York City public schools. He studied composition at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and received a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University in New York. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Whitman College and The College of New Jersey. In 2004, he was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the National Council on the Arts.

ALL ONE BOOK EVENTS ARE FREE TO THE PUBLIC

= Musical event = Lecture or Discussion

= Film

Springfield City Library
http://www.springfieldlibrary.org
220 State Street
Springfield MA 01103
413-263-6828

This page last updated: May 2, 2007