Author Talk: Maria Gitin
Celebrate Black History Month
We're kicking off our Black History Month celebration with an exciting discussion with Civil Rights author Maria Gitin. The one hour presentation will include a slide show, stories, brief discussion and book signing. United Way CEO Keisha Frost Browder opens with a special introduction.
After the successful march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, African American civil rights workers launched an all-out effort to register thousands of new Black voters in the Deep South. A few hundred white youth were invited to join them. Santa Cruz County resident and NAACP member Maria Gitin was an idealistic 19 year old college freshman at San Francisco State College who responded to Dr. Martin Luther King's call to action. She will read from her memoir, "This Bright Light of Ours: Stories from the Voting Rights Fight," (University of Alabama Press) which is the only in-depth account of this summer from a participant perspective. Former Watsonville resident and nationally acclaimed civil rights activist and photographer Bob Fitch contributed historic photos to the book, some of which will be presented in a slide show along with Gitin's talk.
Thursday • February 6
2:00PM - 3:00PM
Downtown Branch Library • 224 Church St.
Upstairs Meeting Room
Maria Gitin has been the Martin Luther King Jr. Day keynote speaker for King County in Seattle; for the U.S. Army Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey and for the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, among her many other public presentations. She is curator of an art and history exhibit, "Vote! Your Voice is your Vote" which opens at the Santa Cruz County Government Center 3rd floor on January 27th.
More Black History Month Events
First Friday Exhibits
First Friday exhibits will also be a part of our celebration of Black History Month this year. At the Santa Cruz County Government Center, Maria Gitin has curated a Vote exhibit. Vote! Your Vote is Your Voice/ ¡Vote! Su Voto es Su Voz, features Bob Fitch photos from Stanford Libraries and artifacts from civil rights veteran Maria Gitin. The exhibit includes contemporary regional artists interpretation of voting rights and informative displays from Santa Cruz County Elections Department and Watsonville City Clerk's Office. A visual timeline highlights key events in voting rights history including the historic Watsonville v. Gomez case. The exhibit is presented by Pajaro Valley Arts in partnership with Santa Cruz County Elections Department.
SCPL will also host the exhibit "Black Lives in Santa Cruz: What Matters" by local photographer Allison Garcia. Through the words and images of the people who experience it, "Black Lives in Santa Cruz: What Matters" reveals some of the racial disparity and injustice in our community. It focuses the lens on "what matters" to the participants-each unique, yet with common threads of family, friends, work, health and joy. All are welcome to view the exhibit at the February First Friday reception from 5:30 - 8 p.m. and meet the artist.
Maria Gitin is the recipient of numerous racial justice awards and has received congressional, military and state assembly recognition for her lifetime commitment to civil rights. Gitin is a member of the NAACP, Bay Area Civil Rights Veterans and of Temple Beth El, Aptos. She and her photographer husband, Samuel Torres Jr., live in Santa Cruz County.
Film Screening: Harriet
The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes, whose courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
Friday • February 28
10:00am - 12:00pm • La Selva Beach Community Church
36 Florido Ave.
Black History Month at your library is made possible by a partnership with the NAACP and United Way of Santa Cruz County.
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