Rock Island, IL: The Nov. 3 Frieze Lecture at the Rock Island Library will consider the events surrounding the Feb. 8, 1915 release of the controversial film Birth of a Nation.
Contemporary reaction included large crowds, widespread protests, and a campaign by the NAACP to ban the film. Augustana College professor of political science Dr. Christopher Whitt will discuss some of those events, and how racism in entertainment affects politics. The free lecture takes place at 2:00 pm at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street, Rock Island.
The annual Frieze Lecture partnership features free public library talks by Augustana College professors (without tests or grades) and discussions afterward over coffee and cookies. The series is named after the decorative architectural frieze on the exterior of the Main Library.
All presentations begin at 2:00 pm, in the Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th Street. Additional presentations in this year's "1915: A Landmark Year" lecture series include a Nov. 10 talk by Farah Marklevits on the legacy of two 1915 poems: Robert Frost's Road Not Taken and TS Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, as well as a rescheduled lecture by Dr. Cecilia Vogel on Nov. 17 on Albert Einstein's 1915 Theory of Relativity.
Events are free and open to the public. For more free programs, visit www.rockislandlibrary.org, call 309-732-READ or pick up a fall events brochure at the Rock Island Main Library, 30/31 or Southwest Branches.
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