The Empowerment Project
Tuesday, January 19 | 6:30 p.m. | Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.
Two years ago, over the span of 30 days, a group of female filmmakers made a 7,000-mile trek from Los Angeles to New York in search of stories and examples of inspiration for America's next generation of women. The result was The Empowerment Project, a full-length documentary spotlighting 17 women in a variety of fields - from pilot and biologist to congresswoman, ballerina, and beer maker.
A screening of the film, directed and produced by Emmy winners Sarah Moshman and Dana Michelle Cook, is followed by a panel discussion revolving around its central question: "What would you do if you weren't afraid to fail?"
Co-presented by Organizing for Action.
American Public Square: A Streetcar Named ...
Wednesday, January 20 | 6:30 p.m. | Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.
Kansas City's streetcar service is intended to grow beyond its initial, 2.2-mile route from the River Market to Union Station, but to where exactly? North to Kansas City International Airport? South to Brookside and Waldo? Points east? More fundamentally, are streetcars the future for public transit in the city? And who should pay?
The Library and American Public Square examine what's ahead in the second in a series of public discussions of hot-button local issues. Johnson County Commissioner Steve Klika moderates a panel discussion among David Johnson, vice chair and outreach lead of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance; Sungyop Kim, an associate professor of architecture, urban planning and design at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; and Patrick Tuohey, western Missouri field manager for the Show-Me Institute.
The format stresses decorum: There are fact checkers and a "civility bell" to ding overheated or impolite speakers.
Co-presented by American Public Square.
Frozen in Time: Images of Wounded Knee and Pine Ridge, 1890-91 - Eli Paul
Sunday, January 24 | 2 p.m. | Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.
Was the December 29, 1890, massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, an act of war? U.S. government officials deemed it such. Or was the killing of some 200 Lakota men, women, and children by Army cavalrymen an act of premeditated murder, as claimed by survivors, their descendants, and American Indian advocates?
Eli Paul, manager of the Library's Missouri Valley Special Collections, discusses the controversial incident and an introspective Library exhibit commemorating its 125th anniversary. Frozen in Time: Images of Wounded Knee and Pine Ridge, 1890-91 features more than 60 images of the aftermath and of leaders on both sides. It remains on display in the Central Library's Genevieve Guldner Gallery through March 13, 2016.
Paul is the co-author of Eyewitness at Wounded Knee, on which the exhibit is based. The presentation is part of the Library's Missouri Valley Sundays series.
Programming is free at the Kansas City Public Library and free parking is available at all Library locations. Event attendees can RSVP at kclibrary.org or at 816.701.3407.