Portland Public Library to host Race and Justice in America book discussion series with the Maine Humanities Council

Portland Public Library to host Race and Justice in America book discussion series 
with the Maine Humanities Council
January 23rd through April 10th 2017

Portland, Maine - Portland Public Library has been selected by the Maine Humanities Council to offer Race and Justice in America, a free 5-book reading and discussion group with all copies of books available through the library. This "Let's Talk About It" program is provided by the Maine Humanities Council’s Maine Center for the Book in cooperation with the Maine State Library.

The first discussion in the Race and Justice in America series begins at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 23 at Portland Public Library, Meeting Room 5, in Portland. The series will continue for four other sessions through April 10, 2017.

Books to be read and discussed in this series include: The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race, edited by Jesmyn Ward; Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson; The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins: Justice, Gender, and the Origins of the L.A. Riots, by Brenda Stevenson; Contempt of Court: The Turn-of-the-Century Lynching that Launched 100 Years of Federalism, by Mark Curriden and Leroy Phillips, and Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age, by Kevin Boyle.

The book discussions will be facilitated by Dr. Leroy Rowe, Assistant Professor of African-American History & Politics at USM.

Books for the program are available for loan at the Reader's Advisory desk of the library. Please call the library at 871-1700 ext. 705 to register and come in to pick up books from the series.
This program is offered to Maine libraries through the Maine Humanities Council in partnership with the Maine State Library.

For more information about “Let’s Talk About It” and the work of the Maine Humanities Council, see www.mainehumanities.org or call the office in Portland at 207-773-5051

THE IDITAROD “THE LAST GREAT RACE ON EARTH”

THE IDITAROD
Add to that the temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the IDITAROD. A RACE EXTRAORDINAIRE, a race only possible in Alaska.
From Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast, each team of 12 to 16 dogs and its musher cover over 975 miles in 9 to 17 days.
It has been called the Last Great Race on Earth® and has won worldwide acclaim and interest. German, Spanish, British, Japanese and American film crews have covered the event. Journalists from outdoor magazines, adventure magazines, newspapers and wire services flock to Anchorage and Nome to record the excitement. It’s not just a sled dog race ... it’s a race in which unique men and woman compete. Mushers enter from all walks of life. Fishermen, lawyers, doctors, miners, artists, Natives, Canadians, Swiss, French and others; men and women each with their own story, each with their own reasons for going the distance. It’s a race organized and run primarily by volunteers ... thousands of volunteers...men and women, students and village residents. They man headquarters at Anchorage, Nome and Wasilla. They fly in dog food and supplies. They act as checkers, coordinators, veterinarians and family supporters of each musher.
“THE LAST GREAT RACE ON EARTH”
The race pits man and animal against nature, against wild Alaska at her best and as each mile is covered, a tribute to Alaska’s past is issued. The Iditarod is a tie to -- a commemoration of -- that colorful past.
The Iditarod Trail, now a national historic trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Seward and Knik to the interior mining camps at Flat, Ophir, Ruby and beyond to the west coast communities of Unalakleet, Elim, Golovin, White Mountain and Nome. Mail and supplies went in. Gold came out. All via dog sled. Heroes were made, legends were born.
In 1925, part of the Iditarod Trail became a lifesaving highway for epidemic-stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened and serum had to be brought in; again by intrepid dog mushers and their faithful hard-driving dogs.
The Iditarod is a commemoration of those yesterdays, a not-so-distant past that Alaskans honor and are proud of.
AN EVENT FOR ALL ALASKA
Anchorage is the ceremonial starting line -- a city of over 290,000 people, street lights, freeways and traffic. From there the field of dog teams, which varies in number each year, runs to Campbell Airstrip, approximately 20 miles. After a restart the following day in the Matanuska Valley at Willow, the mushers leave the land of highways and bustling activity and head out to the Yentna Station Roadhouse and Skwentna and then up through Finger Lake, Rainy Pass, over the Alaska Range and down the other side to the Kuskokwim River -- Rohn Roadhouse, Nikolai, McGrath, Takotna, Ophir, Cripple, and on to the mighty Yukon at Ruby -- a river highway that takes the teams west through the arctic tundra.

Todays Standings:

RCN America Network

Coast Guard Sponsored Iditarod Musher Departs On 1049-mile Race

Coast Guard sponsored Iditarod musher Ken Anderson gives a fan a high five as he departs the restart point of the 41st running of the Iditarod in Anchorage, Alaska, March 3, 2013.

The Coast Guard is sponsoring Anderson, a 12-year Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race veteran during his 2013 Iditarod race attempt that extends through 1049 miles of some of Alaska's toughest terrain.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley

Coast Guard sponsored Iditarod musher Ken Anderson waves to race fans as he departs the Iditarod restart point in Willow, Alaska, March 3, 2013.

The Coast Guard is sponsoring Anderson a 12-year Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race veteran during his 13th running of the Iditarod, which is known as "The last great race on Earth."

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley

Coast Guard sponsored Iditarod musher Ken Anderson departs Willow, Alaska, at the restart of the 41st running of the Iditarod in Anchorage, Alaska, March 3, 2013.

The Coast Guard is sponsoring Anderson in the more than 1,000-mile race as part of an outreach effort to the villages in remote northern Alaska and in tribute to the Coast Guard's historical partnership with the people of Alaska.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley



Coast Guard sponsored Iditarod musher Ken Anderson applies a healing ointment to a dog's foot prior to the restart of the 41st running of the Iditarod in Anchorage, Alaska, March 3, 2013.

Anderson started the race with 16 dogs, whose health and care are of his utmost priority as he participates in his 13th running of the Iditarod, which is known as "The last great race on Earth."

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley



Coast Guard sponsored Iditarod musher Ken Anderson adjusts a dog's harness prior to the restart of the 41st running of the Iditarod in Anchorage, Alaska, March 3, 2013.

The Coast Guard is sponsoring Anderson, a 12-year Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race veteran during his 113th running of the Iditarod, which is known as "The last great race on Earth."

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley