Celebrate Leon County’s 2022 NEA Big Read Featuring Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” During Family-Friendly Kickoff Event

Join Leon County Government as we celebrate the start of the 2022 NEA Big Read featuring Toni Morrison’s Beloved during our family-friendly kickoff event on Saturday, February 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the Leon County Main Library (200 W. Park Avenue). Attendees can enjoy local food trucks, play outdoor games, hear readings from Toni Morrison’s work, participate in a StoryWalk® featuring Please, Louise by Slade Morrison and Toni Morrison, and much more.

As part of the NEA Big Read, citizens can pick up a free copy of Beloved at the kickoff event and at all Library locations while supplies last.

NEA Big Read continues throughout February and March with immersive events for all ages, including:

• Monday, February 21 at 6 p.m., Library Lecture Series: Creating Beloved Communities, Leon County Main Library and via Zoom – Dr. Kendra Mitchell will lead an interactive and interpretive discussion about the life and works of Toni Morrison. The lecture will consider Toni Morrison’s journey as an author for her community and her activism as an editor and publisher of Black writers.
• Thursday, February 24 at 6 p.m., Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am Documentary Film Screening, Leon County Main Library – This award-winning 2019 documentary examines Toni Morrison’s life, work, and the powerful themes she has confronted throughout her literary career.
• Tuesday, March 8 at 6 p.m., Sixty Million and More: The History of Race Violence and American Memory, Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center and Museum – Incorporating themes of violence, community, and memory found in Toni Morrison's Beloved, Dr. Darius Young will chronicle the long history of racial violence in America and how it has survived in the collective memory of the nation.
• Saturday, March 26 at 2 p.m., Memory Writing Workshop, Dr. B.L. Perry, Jr. Branch Library – Faith Eidse from the Tallahassee Writer's Association will discuss the role of memory in Beloved and guide attendees through writing exercises inspired by this topic.

For a complete list of events, visit LeonCountyFL.gov/BigRead.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read is designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. The LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library System is one of 70+ nonprofit organizations to receive a grant to host an NEA Big Read project.

For more information, contact Michelle Ray, Learning & Workforce Services Manager, at (850) 606-2665 / RayM@LeonCountyFL.gov or Leon County Community and Media Relations at (850) 606-5300 / CMR@LeonCountyFL.gov. 

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