Join our Annual Meeting followed by an author talk on Edward W. Brooke
Please join us for a talk and slide presentation by historian and author Alan R. Earls on the fascinating life of Senator Edward W. Brooke, trailblazer and pioneer.
The talk will be preceded by a brief Annual Board Meeting of the Friends of the Charlestown Branch Library, free and open to all.
Thursday, June 22
Annual meeting of the Friends of the Library: 6 p.m.
Author talk: 6:30 p.m.
Charlestown Public Library, 179 Main Street, Charlestown
For more information: bpl.org/locations/charlestown, charlestown@bpl.org, 617-242-1248.
Wheelchair accessible; conveniently located near public transportation.
The talk is hosted by the Charlestown Branch of the Boston Public Library and Communities Matter! A brief annual board meeting of the Friends of the Charlestown Branch Library will precede the talk. The event, including the annual meeting of the Friends of the Library, is free and open to all.
Local historian and author, Alan R. Earls, will present his compelling and informative talk and slide presentation covering Edward W. Brooke’s fascinating life. As the first black popularly-elected U.S. Senator in U.S. history, Senator Brooke made a lasting impact during the Civil Rights era and beyond.
The brief Annual Board Meeting of the Friends of the Charlestown Branch Library, to be held right before the Edward W. Brooke talk, is also open to all as well. The following Board officers will be reinstated: Christine Amisano (President), Elizabeth Clifford (Recording Secretary), Lee Eiseman (Treasurer), Lynne Benson (Membership Secretary), and Directors: Amy Bucher, Mary Curtin, Crystal Galvin, Sophia Moon.
Further background:
Edward William Brooke III (October 26, 1919-January 3, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1967 to 1979. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first African American elected to the United States Senate by popular vote. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served as the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1963 until 1967.
Alan R. Earls is a Boston-area writer and author who has covered high-tech innovation for more than thirty years. He has authored or edited several books on innovative Boston-area enterprises such as Polaroid, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Raytheon. Earls is editor of the Franklin Observer.
On January 7, 1862, the Charlestown Public Library, as it was then known, opened in the Warren Savings Bank with 6,000 volumes. Since then, the Branch has moved three times, first moving in 1869, to more spacious quarters in the newly built City Hall located in Charlestown’s City Square. In 1913, the Branch relocated to the corner of Monument Square and Monument Avenue. It has been in its current location since 1970.
Communities Matter!’s mission is to engage, educate, and connect with communities through programs, presentations, displays, and organized group socials.
The Friends of the Charlestown Branch of the Boston Public Library was formed in 1953, becoming the second Friends group to organize within the Boston Public Library system. As a non-profit organization, the Friends schedule four to six evening adult programs per year, helps to support programs for children held during the day, and maintains the library’s landscaping. The mission of the Friends remains today what it was in 1953: to serve as an advocacy and support group for the needs of the Charles
