Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library - Central Library

Takeout service available Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. Closed from 2 - 3 p.m.every day for sanitizing.

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The Obama Years

An Assessment of Race Relations in the United States

Have race relations in America improved or deteriorated since Barack Obama ascended to the White House? The rash of police shooting deaths of unarmed black men has brought attention to the enduring problem of racial violence in the United States. According to data collected by the Washington Post in 2015, law enforcement officers killed 990 people, of which 258 were black. At present, there have been 703 documented deaths of which 173 were African-Americans. With several months left in the year, the number is expected to rise.

The Shaed Sisters of Washington, D.C.

Elementary School Educators

The Shaeds were a prominent family of educators and professionals in Washington, D.C. Gregory and Cenos Shaed moved from Florida to Washington, D.C. after their marriage in 1900, where Mr. Shaed became a printer with the Government Printing Office.

D.C. History

African American History Culture Museum cover

Staff Pick: National Museum of African American Museum & Culture

New in the collection

The Smithsonian's newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is now open to the public!

I Want a President...

A collective reading - DC

Visit the Great Hall of the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial Library and let your voice be heard. Grab a sticky note and share your vision. Submissions will be read aloud in front of the White House on October 16.

From London into the Past

Over the summer, I joined a small group tour of Great Britain that started in London. It was a great two weeks! I enjoyed exploring the cities and towns where we stopped along the way. Below is a selection of books I read before I went on the tour. Copies are available from the library system.

Market Selects for September 20

Seasonal, Fresh Titles for Your Consumption

On the third Tuesday of each month, library staff set up shop at the FRESHFARM

Library Takeout

The Fossil Fuel Age and After

If a future historian were to map out the great expanse of human history over thousands of years, the fossil fuel age will have occupied a relatively small blip of time. During just several hundred years, humans will have squandered much of the fossil fuels formed over half a billion years. Yet, however brief this era we currently live in will be, many of us consider its way of life to be normal.

Rebel Readers

Uncensored books for the uncensored mind

Explicit language, homosexuality, politics, violence. Just a few reasons why certain books are deemed unsuitable for society by the "conservative" reader. Imagine what our world be like if we did not have those who dared to push the envelope? As Banned Books Week approaches, let us take some time out of our busy day to honor those authors who not only crossed the line, but erased it. But let's not limit that acknowledgement to authors in the United States. Let's cross our borders and look at writers around the world who shook things up in their homeland. Enjoy!

Tuesday Night Movies

A weekly film series for adults at 6 p.m. in Auditorium A-5.

Don't miss these Tuesday Night Movies! September 6 Money Monster After losing his life savings to bad investment advice from a TV guru, a young man threatens the host and the studio with explosives! Starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Directed by Jodie Foster. 98 mins, 2016. R September 13 Captain America: Civil War

Films

U Street Oral History Project now online

Interviews tell the story of DC's cultural corridor

Now online: our U Street Oral History Project, which gathers first-hand accounts of the historic U Street Corridor neighborhood from its heyday as “Black Broadway” in the 1920s and 1930s through the riots that devastated the area following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., to the present renewal.

D.C. History

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Individuals practicing sign language to each other

American Sign Language: Intermediate Level

Join us for our ever-popular series of American Sign Language (ASL) classes on Mondays from 12 - 1 p.m.

ESL Conversation Circles

Monday, March 29, 2021, 6:00 pm

Are you a non-native speaker of English who would like to practice speaking English or build your vocabulary? Join us virtually for the Library's English as a Second Language (ESL) Conversation Circles. The online sessions meet for two hours. They are designed for non-native speakers of English, ages 18 and older, with low intermediate to high-level English skills. For more information, please contact: adultlearning.dcpl@dc.gov

American Sign Language: Beginning Level

Join us for our ever-popular series’ of American Sign Language (ASL) classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 - 1 p.m. This will be a chance for Beginning Level signers to meet and practice conversing and learn some basic signing skills, up to 100 vocabulary words, and rules of grammar. Although focus is on beginners, everyone is welcome to join the class, regardless of skill level.

ESL Conversation Circles

Wednesday, March 31, 2021, 10:00 am

Events with the Labs & C4A: Clothing S.O.S.

Wednesday, March 31, 2021, 5:00 pm

This event will be held virtually. You will receive join instructions two (2) hours before the event is scheduled to begin. Space is limited, please register at bit.ly/labsclasses to be invited to the chat. Need help to fix clothing issues like holes, busted buttons and fallen hems? Join Labs' mending experts Allie and Molly in a private video chat to connect with other menders, get advice on how to fix common issues, and show off your quarantine sewing projects.