In honor of the anniversaries surrounding the Selma to Montgomery marches, and the exhibit at ArtRage Gallery, Syracuse Cultural Workers presents two local artists who will talk about and sign their work. The event will be held at the ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Avenue, Syracuse.

Book illustrator London Ladd has provided beautiful art for five children’s books. His latest, being distributed nationally by Syracuse Cultural Workers, is called Lend a Hand; this work illustrates the poems of John Frank. Each poem talks about a young person practicing kindness in his or her community. His journey to find images for the book makes for inspiring stories. Ladd has also illustrated books about Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr, about Oprah Winfrey and about a traditional story from the underground railroad. His next book is about the life of Frederick Douglass, due for publication in 2016. Some of his other artwork and books will be available for sale.

LeMoyne history professor and author Doug Egerton will be speaking about his new book, The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America’s Most Progressive Era.
In his book, he tells the story of a war we don’t usually learn about in history classes, of the armed efforts by white supremacists to destroy gains of African Americans after slavery ended. He will give an overview of the decades after the Civil War to help explain those violent years and to clarify how that era fueled the historic mistrust of police by African Americans. Other books by Egerton include Year of Meteors: Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the Election That Brought on the Civil War (2010) and Death or Liberty: African Americans and Revolutionary America (2009).

Copies of the authors’ books will be available for purchase and signing.

Free to the Public