The Jay Heritage Center (JHC) today announced a vibrant slate of 2021 programs, which include two Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, a bestselling historian, and acclaimed culinary writers. The schedule to date is here — check back for exciting additions and updates:
JAN. 14, 2021, 6PM: CULINARY JUSTICE: MICHAEL TWITTY AND LAVADA NAHON
Award-winning culinary writer Michael Twitty, author of “The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South,” and Lavada Nahon, a culinary historian, educator, and independent scholar, will discuss the issue of cultural lineage through the history of food. JHC trustee and environmental writer Lori Fontanes will moderate their discussion of how the identities and traditions of enslaved women and men have tenaciously survived for centuries through oral histories and recipes that are not always given appropriate attribution, documentation, or examination. How can understanding the “botanical birthplace” of the food we grow help us better comprehend our complicated American heritage? Register here for the FREE virtual event.
FEB. 9, 2021, 6PM: AN EVENING WITH SAMANTHA POWER
JHC will host a virtual conversation with Samantha Power, former US Ambassador to the United Nations and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Power is the author, most recently, of the best-selling memoir “The Education of an Idealist,” which President Obama called “a must-read for anyone who cares about our role in a changing world.” Register here for the FREE virtual event.
FEB. 11, 2021, 7PM: A CONVERSATION WITH GRETCHEN SORIN
“The struggle to maintain a democratic society is one of our greatest challenges we face as a people.” Gretchen Sorin, the acclaimed author of “Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights,” will return to JHC for a FREE virtual event. Dr. Sorin, the Director of Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies, will discuss her acclaimed body of research and partly autobiographical work, which documents the impact of automobile transportation on the Civil Rights Movement and race relations in America. The book inspired a documentary of the same name by film director Ric Burns and Steeplechase Films. In 1998, Dr. Sorin helped envision a dynamic role for the relatively new nonprofit Jay Heritage Center, encouraging JHC “remind Americans of the struggles of the framers of the constitution and the courts and to connect those struggles with present day concerns about civil rights and civil liberties.” Register here for the FREE virtual event.
FEB. 23, 2021, 6PM: THOMAS E. RICKS
The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist will discuss his new book, “First Principles: What America’s Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country.” Recently reviewed in the New York Times, Ricks’ book offers lessons for our nation’s fraught political moment. Virginia DeJohn Anderson commends Ricks for suggesting that “Americans should resuscitate virtue as a core principle of society and government, directing their energies at reforming everything — from campaign finance to a dysfunctional system of checks and balances — that undermines the public good…. Ricks urges Americans to fix their government so that it protects citizens from the inevitable lapses of a fallible people and, perhaps, even more fallible leaders.” Register here for this timely virtual program.
FEB. 25, 2021: AFRICAN AMERICAN TRAILBLAZER AWARDS
The Trailblazer Awards is an annual event sponsored by Westchester County Executive George Latimer, the African American Advisory Board, and the County Board of Legislators, that honors the accomplishments of local citizens of African descent. Read more here about last year’s event.
MAR. 8, 2021, 6PM: AMANDA FOREMAN
The best-selling historian and Wall Street Journal columnist will discuss her documentary, “The Ascent of Woman,” and her forthcoming book, “The World Made by Women,” in a virtual program at JHC. Register here.
APR. 22, 2021: EARTH DAY CELEBRATION & OUTDOOR GARDENING WORKSHOP: RESTORE OUR EARTH
APR. 30, 2021: ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION & OUTDOOR GARDENING WORKSHOP
MAY 1, 2021, 9 AM TO NOON: I LOVE MY PARK DAY: 10th ANNIVERSARY!
JHC has been a proud participant in I Love My Park Day since its inception. Join us safely this year to celebrate a decade of park support and beautification thanks to the generosity of volunteers like YOU. T-shirts and ice cream for all participants! Ideal for corporate volunteer and scout groups. REGISTER HERE
MAY 31, 2021: MEMORIAL DAY RECEPTION & GARDEN PREVIEW
JUN. 6, 2021: HISTORIC JAY GARDENS OPENING
SEP. 18, 2021: JAY DAY: NEW YORK STATE’S HUDSON RIVER VALLEY RAMBLE
OCT. 1, 2021, 6PM: DAVID GRANN
The bestselling author of “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” will speak at JHC. Register here.