Michele Norris - The Grace of Silence |
In the wake of talk of a “post-racial America” upon the ascendance of Barack Obama as president of the United States, Michele Norris, host of National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, set out, through original reporting, to write a book about “the hidden conversation on race” that is going on in this country. But along the way she unearthed painful family secrets—from her father’s shooting by the Birmingham police within weeks of his discharge from service in World War II to her grandmother’s peddling pancake mix as an itinerant Aunt Jemima. In what became an intensely personal and bracing journey, Norris traveled from her childhood home in Minneapolis to her ancestral roots in the Deep South to explore “things left unsaid” by her family when she was growing up. Along the way she discovers how character is forged by both repression and revelation. She learns how silence became a form of self-protection and a means of survival for her parents—strivers determined to create a better life for their children at a time when America was beginning to experiment with racial equality—as it was for white Americans who grew up enforcing strict segregation (sometimes through violence) but who now live in a world where integration is the norm.
Extraordinary for Norris’s candor in examining her own complex racial legacy, The Grace of Silence is also informed by hundreds of interviews with ordinary Americans and wise observations about evolving attitudes toward race in America. It is concerned with assessing the truth of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s assertion that vis-à-vis race, ours is a nation of cowards, for often what is left unsaid is more important than what is openly discussed.
Ticket price for the event is $35, and includes a signed copy of The Grace of Silence. There will be a reception at 6:00 pm. Tickets for the reception are $125, and include a signed copy of The Grace of Silence and the opportunity to mingle with Ms. Norris. Procedes benefit local NPR station WBHM.
To purchase tickets through our secure and encrypted web form Click Here and be sure to indicate TICKET in "SPECIAL REQUEST" box.
To purchase tickets to the reception Click Here and be sure to indicate RECEPTION in "SPECIAL REQUEST" box.
To purchase a signed copy Click Here
- Street:
- Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
- Additional:
- 1530 6th Avenue North
- City:
- Birmingham ,
- Province:
- Alabama
- Postal Code:
- 35203
- Country:
- United States
Rick Bragg in the Movies
Even though you weren’t able to attend the September 26, 2011, sold-out world premiere of Alabama’s Rick Bragg: Out of the Dirt, here’s your opportunity to view the entire movie at home, as well as much bonus footage not seen in the original documentary.
Listen in on distinguished Alabamaians, local friends and family tell inside tales on Rick as a child and award-winning best-selling author. Rick also gives his life’s philosophy in many scenes. Find out about his mother’s poetry; hear his aunt tell of dressing him as a girl when he was a tot. If ever there was a priceless gift, this is it.
You may order the two DVD (22.95) set through our secure, encrypted link Here
We also have signed copies of every edition of every Rick Bragg title ever written. You may view those by Clicking Here
