By Ginni Spencer
The Bedford Citizen recently completed its One Book One Bedford program built around the graphic novel memoir by Congressman John Lewis entitled March.
Detailing his personal and public involvement in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, the book ends in 2008 with Lewis observing to a colleague, “We’ve got to tell the story.” This reference to his concern that the history of these important events must be kept visible and relevant to the next generation of young people resonates with the mission of The Citizen. We seek to promote informed civic participation by providing reliable information which encourages discussion and consideration of local issues.
For The Citizen, the March program was a big step into somewhat new territory. We are grateful to the Friends of the Bedford Library, the Library Corporation, the Social Responsibility Council of First Parish Church, the Bedford Cultural Council, and our reader-donors (like many of you!) for their enthusiastic financial support of our effort.
And we’d like to do more…will you consider a donation to keep The Citizen strong for years to come?
The March program offered an opportunity for an intergenerational conversation by using a graphic memoir as its centerpiece. We took a chance with a selection in this somewhat unusual format – and we made sure that the program provided information both on the format itself as well as the book’s content. We complemented the book reading with a workshop on graphic novels, a public screening of Selma, and lectures by Professor Dan Breen, Rev. Irene Monroe, and Professor Robert Moses who worked alongside Lewis during the sixties. Several discussion groups, offered at different times and including a unique “walking tour” approach for one, took place over the course of four weeks. Hours and hours of volunteer time went into crafting and delivering as interesting and varied a program as we could design. But…it wasn’t free. We paid speakers’ fees, purchased materials, and incurred PR expenses. We learned a lot and we think we can do even better the next time we attempt a public program of this kind. (By the way, if you haven’t yet provided your feedback, please do so!)
Keeping The Citizen vibrant and capable of bringing you the most reliable local news week in and week out as well as exploring ideas to keep us in discussion with one another on issues critical to our time is what we are all about. Volunteers are an important part of our structure and we are most grateful for them…but we cannot survive without sustained financial support from our community of readers and businesses.
Please make a donation of $25, $50, or a $100 today as we wind up our 2017 fundraising campaign. Consider becoming a monthly sustainer by choosing the option on our PayPal donate button. Write a check to The Bedford Citizen, PO Box 212, Bedford, MA 01730. Would you like to honor or memorialize someone with a donation to The Citizen? Please let us know.
The Bedford Citizen is a 501(c)3 corporation and donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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