The Power Of Children
Exhibit open January 28-March 16 at YDL-WhittakerHow Three Children Overcame Hate and Changed Our Society
This winter, the Ypsilanti District Library is featuring The Power of Children, an exhibit dedicated to three children that changed history. The exhibit profiles Ruby Bridges, Anne Frank, and Ryan White, three young people who became the faces of some of the most intense struggles of the twentieth century and whose lives and stories continue to teach and inspire us.
Visitors be transported into the different worlds that these children endured: the Holocaust in the 1940s, the Jim Crow south in the 1960s, and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. This exhibit includes intense themes and is recommended for adults and for children ages 8 and older.
The exhibit can be viewed in the YDL-Whittaker Community Room at any time the library is open, from January 28-March 16 2019.
Anne Frank’s Story
Millions of people around the world know the story of Holocaust victim Anne Frank, as recorded in the diary she kept while her family spent two years in hiding during the Nazi occupation. Her diary is the second most-read piece of nonfiction literature in the world and offers a unique window into a young girl’s life during the traumatic period of the Holocaust. Frank persevered through a world of anti-Semitism, genocide, and intolerance, and her words continue to offer important lessons to the world.
Related Events
An Evening with Author and Holocaust Speaker Irene Butter
7 pm | Wednesday, Feb. 27 | YDL-Whittaker
YDL is honored to welcome Holocaust survivor, professor, and author Irene Butter. Her memoir, Shores Beyond Shores, details her journey during the Holocaust and explores how the heart keeps its humanity during inhumane times.
Film screening: Anne Frank Remembered (2004) NEW DATE AND TIME
6 pm | Wednesday , Feb. 20 | YDL-Whittaker
Join veteran film critic Perry Siebert for a screening and discussion of the Academy Award-winning documentary Anne Frank Remembered. Rated PG-13.
Shores Beyond Shores: From Holocaust to Hope
10:30 am | Thursday, Mar. 7 | YDL-Whittaker
Join your friends and neighbors for a book discussion of Shores Beyond Shores, Irene Butter’s memoir of her journey during the Holocaust and her time spent in two concentration camps, including Bergen-Belsen during the time of Anne Frank.
Telling Your Story: The Power of Words
7 pm | Wednesday, Feb. 6, Feb. 13 | YDL-Whittaker
In this two-part writing workshop, staff from EMU’s Office of Campus and Community Writing help you explore the stories of your life, focus on one significant moment, and write about that experience. Discover the power of your own words and memories.
Ruby Bridges’ Story
Bridges was one of the first African American children to attend a previously all-white school in New Orleans in 1960. After the landmark Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education, public schools were beginning to integrate across the South, bringing forth backlash from a racially divided region. On six-year old Ruby’s first day of school, she was escorted by guards past a mob of angry protestors. She attended school each day with her head held high, becoming the face of America’s integration.
Related Events
Raising Powerful Kids
3:30 pm | Saturday, Feb. 2 | YDL-Whittaker
Parents will learn about adverse childhood experiences and the science of building resilience while youngsters hear a read-aloud about Ruby Bridges. Co-Hosted by Black Men Read.
This event will be followed by a screening of the Disney film Ruby Bridges (2004).
The Achievement Gap
6:30 pm | Monday, Feb. 11 | YDL-Whittaker
Dr. Theresa Saunders of EMU’s College of Education explores the gaps in funding and support that have widened the achievement gap for students of color in Michigan, and what needs to change.
Brown v. Board of Ed: Mistakes Made, Lessons Learned
2:00 pm | Saturday, Feb. 16 | YDL-Michigan
Professor Ronald C Woods, J.D. Professor, Department of Africology and African American Studies at Eastern Michigan University will reflect upon the meaning of Brown v. Board in the flow of United States history, the challenges presented by the case, and the promises yet to be realized.
Ryan White’s Story
At the age of 13, Ryan White was diagnosed with AIDS after receiving a blood transfusion. After being told that he had 6 months to live, White was determined to live his life to the fullest. However, due to the paranoia and misinformation spread during the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, he was expelled from school when word got out about his diagnosis. White had to fight his way through ignorance and discrimination, while trying to be a normal teenage boy, until his death at age 18. White’s fight with AIDS helped reduce stigma attached to the disease, and helped people living with HIV/AIDS seek better treatment.
Related Events
Film Screening: How to Survive a Plague (2012)
6:30 pm | Tuesday, Mar. 5 | YDL-Whittaker
Winner of the best documentary of 2012 from the Gotham Independent Film Awards, How to Survive a Plague tells the untold story of the efforts that turned AIDS into a mostly manageable condition and the improbable group of young men and women who, with no scientific training, infiltrated government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, and helped identify promising new compounds, moving them through trials and into drugstores in record time.
LIVING WITH HIV: Treatment, Research, Outlook for the future
7:00 pm | Thursday, Mar. 14 | YDL-Whittaker
Hear a personal story about living with HIV, along with the most current facts about prevention, transmission, and treatment. Unified HIV Health and Beyond’s (UHHB) advances prevention, access to health care, community research and advocacy – right here in Ypsilanti.
Kids Changing The World
These youth empowerment events encourage young people to find their voice and make change in the world every day! Start a conversation about the power of children in your family by visiting the exhibit, participating in the Ypsi Family Read, or getting inspired at a library program for youth and parents.
Family Read Celebration with author Ruth Behar
6:00 pm | Monday, Mar. 18 | Riverside Arts Center
Ruth Behar, author of Lucky Broken Girl, will speak to audiences at the Riverside Arts Center about her experience as a Cuban American, an immigrant, a world traveler, and our common humanity – and how they influenced the writing of her character Ruthie, heroine of Lucky Broken Girl.
Lucky Broken Girl By Ruth Behar Book Discussion Groups
6:30 pm | Feb. 23, Mar. 11 | YDL-Whittaker
“Ruthie Mizrahi and her family emigrated from Castro’s Cuba to New York City. Just when Ruthie is gaining confidence in her master of English, a horrific car accident leaves her in a body cast and confined to her bed. As Ruthie’s world shrinks because of her inability to move, her powers of observation grow, and she comes to understand how fragile life is, how vulnerable we are all, and how friends, neighbors, and the power of the arts can get us through even the worst of times.”
Youth Painting Workshop: Self-portraiture
4:00 pm | Monday, Feb. 9 | YDL-Whittaker
Join art teacher Belen Pilaftsidis and local art honor society students for a hands-on painting workshop in self-portraiture, Frida Khalo-style! Have your art exhibited at the Ruth Behar author visit on March 18.
Youth Making Change in Ypsi
3:30 pm | Saturday, Feb. 23 | YDL-Whittaker
A youth-led panel discussion, including the Ypsi/Ann Arbor Youth Citizens of the Year from 2017 and 2018, will show first-hand the power of youth. Ask questions and visit with local organizations serving Ypsilanti-area teens.
About the Power of Children
This exhibition is made possible by NEH On The Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Power of Children: Making a Difference was organized by the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. It was adapted and toured by the Mid-America Arts Alliance.
Related programs are funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Friends of the Ypsilanti District Library.
