Born in Jim Crow-era Birmingham, Alabama in 1950, Lonnie Holley was the seventh of 27 children—and at age four was taken from his mother and traded for a bottle of whiskey (Bloom). He fled abusive foster parents, was hit by a car (and declared brain dead) and was later sent to Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children—a “slave camp” by any other name (Missick). Holley’s work, born out of struggle, hardship—and more importantly, out of furious curiosity and biological necessity—manifests itself in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, performance, filmmaking, and music.

All are welcome to a special one-display of highlights of Beinecke Library collections related to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to the African American freedom movement on view for the holiday in the courtyard level reading room. You will be able to see an array of materials, many drawn from the library’s James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection of African American Arts and Letters, that highlight Dr. King’s life, legacy, and impact, and the long civil rights movement in the United States. The display will also include materials about Black New Haven history.

An introductory tour of the Beinecke Library, its mission, history, architecture, collections, and services, led by a library staff or student guide. Tours last approximately 45 minutes. Reservations are not required. Note: see the library’s website (beinecke.library.yale.edu) for current public health protocols and other important visitor information.

The 2024 Windham-Campbell Prize recipients will be in residence on Yale’s campus from September 17-20 for a multi-day international literary festival during which they will share their work, engage in conversation on a range of subjects, and celebrate reading and the written word with the New Haven community.

The full schedule of talks, discussions, and readings will be available at windhamcampbell.org in mid-August 2024.

Join the Yale African American Affinity Group for a conversation with Marlene Daut, professor of French and African American studies at Yale University, about her book Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution. Register by Friday, January 19th for your chance to win a free copy of the book!