June Is Caribbean American Heritage Month!

June is just around the corner and the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System will be celebrating Caribbean American Heritage all month long! Film screenings, programs, author events, book signings, and plenty of other activities are planned for all ages so be sure and check the schedule below and mark your calendars. We'd love to have you celebrate with us!

National Caribbean-American Heritage Month is a time to celebrate and recognize men and women who trace their roots to the Caribbean. Through every chapter of our Nation's history, Caribbean Americans have made our country stronger -- reshaping our politics and reigniting the arts, spurring our movements and answering the call to serve. Caribbean traditions have enriched our own, and woven new threads into our cultural fabric. Again and again, Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have reaffirmed America's promise as a land of opportunity -- a place where no matter who you are or where you come from, you can make it if you try.

                                  ~President Barack Obama; Presidential Proclamation, 2013         

National Caribbean American Heritage Month Meet and Greet and Reception.

Tuesday June 3. 4:00 p.m.

All are invited to get information about the month’s festivities at the Central Library. Learn about the Caribbean Film Festival, Anancy Festival, Caribbean Spelling Bee and Book Signings. Meet representatives from various Caribbean countries and organizations. Refreshments will be served.

Central Library, a part of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System

1 Margaret Mitchell Square, Atlanta 30303

For more information call 404.730.1904

The Caribbean Film Festival 2014

Saturday, June 7. 1:00 p.m.

Join us as we view the films Play, Jankanu play: the Garifuna Wanaragua ritual in Belize and The Boys of Summer from Curacao. Dr. Oliver Greene filmmaker and Professor, will introduce and facilitate a discussion about his film ‘Play, Jankanu play…’; and ‘The Boys of Summer’ documents the exciting journey of the Curacao team to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The Caribbean Film Festival 2014.

Sunday, June 8. 1:00 p.m.

Join us as we view the films Sara Gomez: Afro-Cuban filmmaker and Womanish Ways,Freedom, Human Rights, and Democracy: the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the Bahamas 1948-1962.

Book Discussion and Signing.

Tuesday, June 10. 4:00 p.m.

Nicki Salcedo will present and discuss her first novel, All Beautiful Things, a story based in Atlanta which delves into the themes of love, race, crime and the search for truth. Copies of the book will be available for purchase, and the author will sign books after the discussion.

Anancy Festival 2014.

Saturday June 14. 1:00 p.m.

Listen to storytellers as they regale the audience with funny and exciting tales of the trickster Anancy. These tales migrated from West Africa to the Caribbean, and have delighted children there for many years.

Caribbean Spelling Bee.

Saturday June 14. 2:30 p.m.

Children and teens up to the eighth grade will take part in this first annual spelling bee focused on Caribbean people, places and things. The list of spelling words will be made available upon request.  Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third places.

The Caribbean Film Festival 2014.

Sunday, June 15. 1:00 p.m.

Join us as we view the films The Merikins from Trinidad and Tobago, and Rum Shop and Chattel House from Barbados.

Book Discussion and Signing.

Tuesday, June 17. 4:00 p.m.

Dr.Noel Erskine, noted Caribbean theologian and Emory University Professor will launch his new book, Plantation Church: How African-American Religion was born in Caribbean Slavery. Copies of the book will be available for purchase, and Dr. Erskine will be available to sign books after the discussion.