A joint message from the Pratt Library CEO & Incoming Chair of the Board

A message from Pratt Library CEO Heidi Daniel

As summer approaches, and this country finds itself slowly emerging from one pandemic, it has brutally refocused on another disease, one that we have been fighting for generations: systemic racism. What happened to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmed Aubrey, and so many of the other young Black lives that precede them confirm for us, yet again, that this disease is deep and persistent. It has to change.

As CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in the City of Baltimore, the very least that I can do is acknowledge the presence and severity of this disease as its impact continues to do harm to our children, our families, and our community.  Though I cannot fully understand the pain, fear, and anxiety that many of you — my Black and brown friends, family, work team, and colleagues — experience on a daily basis, there are two things for which you can be certain. First, I recognize that this pain, fear, and anxiety exist; and second, that the Enoch Pratt Free Library stands with our city and communities against systemic racism. Black lives matter, and Pratt leadership, staff, and the Board are committed to working towards an equitable Baltimore. This is the spirit in which Enoch Pratt founded our library system. We understand that it takes all of us, not just those directly impacted, to work towards this societal change.

As an institution, inclusive of our Board and staff, we have the unique ability to literally change lives … for you, for me, and for our city. We cannot stand quiet. There is just too much to do.

A message from Pratt Library Incoming Board Chair Dr. Mychelle Farmer

The Pratt Board advocates for equity and justice for all people in the Baltimore area. We support the Pratt Library and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), as they condemn the recent acts of police violence which resulted in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. Although these deaths have occurred recently, they reflect the continued challenge of systemic racism that we have not properly addressed in the U.S. The Pratt Board recognizes the importance of a critical review of societal factors contributing to systemic racism in all its forms. We will work together as concerned citizens and Board members to promote systems that respect human rights and dignity. Thought leaders in Baltimore, including the Pratt Board, will play a pivotal role to ensure a productive dialogue, informed by the needs and concerns of all community members. We look forward to the opportunity to plan and collaborate with the Pratt staff and with other esteemed systems within Baltimore.

This June we are excited to celebrate the LGBTQ + community with our love of reading. Here’s a collection of entertaining fiction books and engaging memoirs that we hope you find inspiring.

Want to learn more about LGBTQ+ community? Check out a past episode of the Pratt’s Free to Bmore podcast that highlights how far the LGBTQ+ movement for equal rights has come, and how much further there is to go.

by Hannah Lane, African American Department        

When times are difficult, sometimes the right book can help us reflect on our experiences, process what is happening around us, and heal. We hope that readers will find solace and peace in these classic works by African American poets and authors.

by Hannah Lane, African American Department

Prior to the arrival of the COVID19 pandemic, when our doors were open,  numerous Pratt customers would approach the reference desk in the African American department with requests for information about the Civil Rights Movement. In the words of historian Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, “The civil rights movement circulates in American history in forms and through channels that are at once powerful, dangerous, and hotly contested.” As the world watches Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd by members of the Minneapolis Police department, this tragic loss of life and the legacies of the Civil Rights movement reflect heavily in the minds of those of us who are concerned with the end of police brutality and all forms of state violence against the oppressed. They are downplayed and questioned in the minds of those who are not. Memories of and arguments about the Civil Rights movement, like Dowd wrote, from 1954 to 2020, from Selma to Greensboro to Los Angeles to Ferguson to Baltimore indeed remain deeply contested.

The African American department wishes to continue supporting our customers as we all reflect on all that has been accomplished by Black activists across the nation, and all that has been thwarted by fearful, angry citizens and fearful, powerful governments committed to racial oppression. This is a selection of documentaries about the Civil Rights Movement that are available through the streaming service Kanopy, ranging from topics such as the activism of the Black Panthers, to the reflections of James Baldwin on the movement, and the leadership of Black women.  Forthcoming are selections from our digital E-book collections that we hope readers will find strength and respite in during these painful times. We express our deepest, heartfelt condolences to all of George Floyd’s loved ones. Rest in power, Mr. Floyd.

by Jalen Eutsey, Librarian

The book seems to say, come to be reminded of your beleaguered pot-bellied coaches, with their asinine aphorisms, or their soft-spoken poignancies; enjoy the spit puddles, sunflower-seed piles, all the elaborate routines and handshakes, the ticks of superstition, and the nicknames. But stay for the heart-rending explorations of human life—how one forms an individual identity independent of their self-appointed life coach, independent of their parents, or the game they’ve given their life to, independent even of their past mistakes.

The book follows five characters—Guert Affenlight, his daughter Pella Affenlight, Owen Dunne, Mike Schwartz, and Henry Skrimschander—through their intertwined journeys on the campus of Westish College, a small, fictional liberal arts college in Northern Wisconsin on the shore of Lake Michigan.

As is apt for a baseball tale, the story spins into high gear after an errant throw. When Henry’s first error in three years hits his roommate Owen Dunne in the head, sending him to the hospital, the lives of all five characters come colliding together in unexpected ways.

I won’t spoil the conclusion, but this is a great listen if you’re longing for sports, or just a consuming distraction.