The Learning Center in the Fred L. Mathews Library at Southwestern Michigan College is hosting the Great Michigan Read program on Feb. 28
The Great Michigan Read program, presented by the Michigan Humanities Council with support from Meijer and the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a free, statewide humanities initiative inviting Michiganians to read and participate in book discussions and events in their hometowns.
The featured book this year is “Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age,” a recounting of a landmark historical event, culminating in an epic legal battle that helped lay the foundation of the civil rights movement.
The Feb. 28 program at the college will include a book discussion at 1 p.m. in the Learning Center Media Room.
A performance by a jazz pianist, Deborah Keller, with light refreshments in the Mathews Conference Center West will follow at 1:30 p.m. with a lecture at 2 p.m. by Georgia Boggs on the history of civil rights.
Boggs is the Niles First Ward Council member, a member of the Niles chapter of the NAACP and is very active in the community.
“Arc of Justice” was written by Kevin Boyle, a Detroit native. He earned his doctorate from the University of Michigan and is a professor of history at Ohio State University.
The book won the 2004 National Book Award and was named as a Michigan Notable Book in 2005.
For more information about the events or to obtain a copy of the book, call (269) 782-1205. The Learning Center is located in the Fred L. Mathews Library on the college’s Dowagiac campus.