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Event
Blue Bicycle Books Charleston Author Series Luncheon with Marjory Wentworth, Herb Frazier and Bernard Edward Powers
Join us Friday, July 8th at noon for Blue Bicycle Books Charleston Author Series luncheon at High Cotton. when Herb Frazier, award-winning journalist and childhood member of Mother Emanuel, Dr. Bernard Edward Powers, A.M.E. Church member and professor of history at the College of Charleston, and Majory Wentworth, South Carolinas Poet Laureate, will discuss their new book We Are Charleston.
Tickets are only $35 for the author talk and delicious three-course luncheon at Halls Chophouse, or $60 that includes the luncheon plus a signed, hardcover copy of "We Are Charleston." A portion of ticket sales will benefit Reading Partners which provides one-on-one help for area students who struggle with reading.
High Cotton is located at 199 East Bay Street in downtown Charleston. Of course, there is a full-service cash bar for your enjoyment.
About the Book:
On June 17, 2015, at 9:05 p.m., a young man with a handgun opened fire on a prayer meeting at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine members of the congregation. The captured shooter, 21 year-old Dylan Roof, a white supremacist, was charged with their murders. Two days after the shooting, while Roofs court hearing was held on video conference, the families of his nine victims, one by one, appeared on the screen forgiving the killer. The Emanuel Nine set a profound example for their families, their city, their nation, and indeed the world.
"We Are Charleston" not only recounts the events of that terrible day but also offers a history lesson that reveals a deeper look at the suffering, triumph, and even the ongoing rage of the people who formed Mother Emanuel A.M.E. church and the wider denominational movement.
In many ways, this church's story is America's story, the oldest A.M.E. church in the Deep South fighting for freedom and civil rights but also fighting for grace and understanding. Fighting to transcend bigotry, fraud, hatred, racism, poverty, and misery. The shootings in June 2015, opened up a deep wound of racism that still permeates Southern institutions and remains part of American society.
"We Are Charleston" tells the story of a people, continually beaten down, who seem to continually triumph over the worst of adversity. Exploring the storied history of the A.M.E. Church may be a way of explaining the price and power of forgiveness, a way of revealing Gods mercy in the midst of tremendous pain. We Are Charleston may help us discover what can be right in a world that so often has gone wrong.
About the Authors:
HERB FRAZIER is the public relations and marketing manager for Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. He is the author of Behind Gods Back, a collection of stories from Cainhoy, Huger, Wando, St. Thomas Island and Daniel islands, South Carolina. His forthcoming book, Crossing the Sea on a Sacred Song, tells the story of how an African funeral song links a woman in Georgia with a woman in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Mr. Frazier was raised in Mother Emanuel A.M.E. church. He knew Reverend Benjamin Glover who organized the youth to protest during the early years of the Civil Rights Movement in Charleston, and he has vivid memories of rallies at Mother Emanuel where members sang We Shall Overcome in a dimly lit church during night-time services. He is still very close to the church where he spent his childhood.
BERNARD EDWARD POWERS JR. has been at the College of Charleston as professor of history teaching courses in United States and African American history since 1992. He served as Behavioral Sciences Curriculum Coordinator and Lecturer in Social Science at Malcolm X College from 1977-78. He is the author of Black Charlestonians: A Social History 1822-1885. He served as an associate editor of the Encyclopedia of South Carolina. His most recent journal article appeared in the South Carolina Historical Magazine and is entitled The Worst of All Barbarisms: Racial Anxiety and Secession in the Palmetto State. His latest book chapter entitled Churches as Places of History: The Case of Nineteenth Century Charleston, South Carolina, is published in Max van Balgooy, Interpreting African American History and Culture at Museums and Historic Sites. His present work focuses on the development of African Methodism in South Carolina.
MARJORY WENTWORTH is on the faculty at The Art Institute of Charleston. She is the co-founder and former president of the Lowcountry Initiative for the Literary Arts. She serves on the Editorial Board of the University of South Carolinas Palmetto Poetry Series, and she is the poetry editor for Charleston Currents. Her work is included in the South Carolina Poetry Archives at Furman University, and she is the Poet Laureate of South Carolina. Her poems have been nominated for The Pushcart Prize five times. Her books of poetry include Noticing Eden, Despite Gravity, and The Endless Repetition of an Ordinary Miracle and New and Selected Poems. She is the co-writer with Juan Mendez of Taking a Stand, The Evolution of Human Rights, co-editor with Kwame Dawes of Seeking, Poetry and Prose inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green, and the author of the prizewinning childrens story Shackles.
Tickets are $35 for the author talk and luncheon, or $60 that includes the luncheon plus a signed, hardcover copy of "We Are Charleston." Doors open at 11:30 AM and lunch is served promptly at noon. Limited seating provides an intimate experience with the author. There is a cash bar bar for your enjoyment.
High Cotton is located at 199 East Bay Street, where the luncheon and discussion will take place.
Parking is available at the City Garage on Cumberland Street, multiple private lots or meters on the street.
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LocationHigh Cotton (View)
199 East Bay Street
Charleston, SC 29401
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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