Defending public education is, unfortunately, quite relevant right now, making author Derek W. Black’s work as an education policy and constitutional law scholar particularly vital. Black’s latest book, released in January, explores the great lengths that Black communities took to pursue education during enslavement and Reconstruction and the “violent lengths to which southern leaders went to repress Black literacy”—and the impact that dynamic has left on the education system.
Black’s previous books include Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy, published in 2020; this event is put on in partnership with nonprofit Public Schools First NC. If you can’t make it out to Flyleaf on Thursday, a conversation and book signing with Black on March 14 at the Castalia Building in Chapel Hill will serve as a fundraiser for Public Schools First NC. The catered event comes with a copy of the book; tickets are $100 and all proceeds go to the nonprofit. —Sarah Edwards
“3.1415926535” sings English singer-songwriter Kate Bush on her 2005 hit “Pi.” While I don’t really know why she wrote that song, it’s very fun to listen to—and you could do so this week while sampling some free pie in Durham Central Park on Friday afternoon. “Think about how great it would be to visit a friend and when you walk in the door they offer you a fresh slice of warm pie they just cooked,” says the Facebook event page, and we have to agree.
If you’re up to baking one—of any flavor—organizers ask that you drop it off in the park around 4 p.m. If you’re not up to baking, just stop by to eat some and enjoy what must be the nerdiest unofficial holiday next to Star Wars day (May the Fourth be with you)! Surely we say this about a lot of events, but free pie with nerds in the park really does feel like the kind of event that makes Durham, Durham. —Chase Pellegrini de Paur
Not that I’d judge someone by their feelings about dogs…but it’s always a boon to discover that a beloved public figure was a dog person. Durham’s Pauli Murray—poet, priest, legal scholar, dog lover—can be seen throughout photo archives with various large dogs; two of them (“Doc” and “Roy”) were Murray’s longtime canine companions.
A pack walk, then, is a natural fundraiser for the Pauli Murray Center, which opened in September: A $60 ticket will get you in for a fun, mile-long neighborhood walk with your dog for a good cause (there’s something in it for dogs, too: exercise, a bandana, and a pup cup). Last week, the National Park Service took down Murray’s biographical page as part of a purge of LGBTQ+ content on federal websites—so it’s an especially good time to turn out and show the world that Durham loves Pauli Murray for exactly who they were. —Sarah Edwards
Alvin Ailey’s work sweeping, jubilant “Revelations” was first performed in 1960. Ailey drew on his upbringing in a Christian church for the piece, infusing an epic dance journey from slavery to freedom with spirituals, gospel, and blues music. In the decades since, the work has continued as the company’s signature piece; now, Triangle audiences can see it performed alongside “works by numerous choreographers for whom Mr. Ailey paved the way,” per the event description. Tickets start at $39 for these back-to-back Carolina Performing Arts shows; “Revelations” will be performed both nights and works by additional choreographers will vary by night. —Sarah Edwards
NPR correspondent Emily Feng’s new book takes readers into the lives of more than two dozen ordinary people in modern day China pushing back against political conformity and limits to free expression. These deeply reported portraits offer rare insight into life in the Xi Jinping era and can perhaps offer insight, too, into how to respond to free speech dilemmas in our own country.
At this Duke event, sponsored by multiple departments, Eileen Cheng-yin Chow, associate professor of the practice in Chinese and Japanese Cultural Studies at Duke, joins the conversation; Ralph Litzinger, an associate professor in the Department of Cultural Anthropology, moderates. —Sarah Edwards
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