Enoch Pratt Free Library Podcast

Join us for a conversation with two leading experts on race and community-police partnerships. Baltimore's own Lieutenant Colonel Melvin Russell and national scholar Dr. Phillip Goff will address some provocative issues: What are the underlying causes of racial differences in arrests? What role does implicit bias play? Is it possible for communities and police to work together in a meaningful way?

Joe Jones, executive director of the Center for Urban Families and OSI-Baltimore board member, will serve as moderator.

Lt. Col. Melvin Russell, a 30-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department, serves as the chief of its Community Partnerships Division. He previously served as the commanding officer of Baltimore's Eastern District.

Dr. Phillip A. Goff is the executive director of research for the Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity and assistant professor of social psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a leader in psychological research on race, gender, and policing.

Recorded On: Monday, June 17, 2013

Passager Journal, based in Baltimore, has been publishing writing by older authors for over two decades. Editors Mary Azrael and Kendra Kopelke host an evening of readings by poets whose work they’ve recently published, and talk about Passager Journal and Passager Books.

The featured poet at this event was Moira Egan, who was introduced by Clarinda Harriss.

Other poets who read from their work include

• Shirley Brewer
• Steve Matanle
• Marianna Busching
• Jim Smith
• Elisavietta Ritchie
• Rossme Taylor
• Carol Peck
• Matthew Petty
• Pantea Amin Tofangchi
• MiMi Zannino
• Jenny Keith Ciattei
• Sylvia Fischbach-Braden
• Art Cohen
• Lenett Nef'faahtiti
• Pat Valdata
• Ellen Hartley
• Ann Kolakowski
• Joe Hann
• Deborah Arnold
• Kathy Mangan
• Christine Higgins
• Clarinda Harriss

Learn more about Passager.

Recorded On: Wednesday, June 12, 2013

When Walter Mosley burst onto the literary scene in 1990 with his first Easy Rawlins mystery, Devil in a Blue Dress, he captured the attention of hundreds of thousands of readers. Eleven books later, Easy Rawlins is one of the few private eyes in contemporary crime fiction who can be called iconic and immortal. In the incendiary and fast-paced Little Green, he returns from the brink of death to investigate the dark side of L.A.'s 1960s hippie haven, the Sunset Strip.

Walter Mosley is the author of more than 40 books. He is the winner of numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, a Grammy, and PEN America's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Presented in partnership with Black Classic Press.

Recorded On: Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Freeman takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Sam, a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army, decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and sets out on foot for the war-torn South in search of his wife Tilda. Meanwhile Sam's wife is being forced to walk at gunpoint with her owner and other slaves from Mississippi to Arkansas. A third character, Prudence, is a fearless, headstrong white woman of means who leaves her Boston home to start a school for former slaves in Mississippi.

Leonard Pitts, Jr. won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for his twice-weekly syndicated column which appears in more than 200 newspapers, including the Baltimore Sun. He is the author of the novel Before I Forget and the memoir Becoming Dad.

Recorded On: Tuesday, June 4, 2013

John Shea and Piper Watson from the Station North Tool Library talk about their experience developing the Tool Library over the course of a year - the doors now having been open for two months.  They also share how they garnered support from the community, area organizations, and other lending libraries to set up this lending model to be a success and moving towards self-sustainability.

Mary Murphy from the Center for a New American Dream introduces people to New Dream's how-to guides and webinars that support collaborative consumption and the local economy.  Her goal is to build New Dream teams of people who are actively engaged in sharing ventures and supporting local business throughout Maryland.

Keynote speaker Corey Fleisher, “The Maker Revolution”
Corey Fleischeris a senior mechanical engineer with almost ten years of practical, hands on experience, who's most recent list of accomplishments includes being chosen as a contestant on the Discovery Channel’s The Big Brain Theory:  Pure Genius and taking a leading role in the construction of a brand new Maker Space for the Baltimore area, The Foundery, slated to open to the public this summer.  As Corey's career path demonstrates, The Maker Revolution has been and continues to be an ever increasing driving force in today’s generation of inventors. Corey’s passions for engineering and scientific advancement have driven him to be a successful mechanical engineer who has received special recognitions from Lockheed Martin. This same passion, which Corey shares with so many other fellow Makers, is driving innovation and technological advancements in garages and backyards throughout the United States.

During his presentation, Corey discusses this emerging trend; the role that local libraries and other social institutions play in its development; and its continued relevance for future generations of Makers.

The Innovation Expo was sponsored by The Maryland State Department of Education Division of Library Development & Services, The Enoch Pratt Free Library/State Library Resource Center, FutureMakers, and the Object Lab at Towson University. Additional support given by the Station North Tool Library and the Center for a New American Dream. 

Recorded On: Saturday, June 1, 2013