Two great reasons to resist the early-December urge to hibernate and get out today:
1) This morning, Springfield Technical Community College hosts a talk by Ramsey Clark, U.S. attorney general during the Johnson administration—a job he almost lost, event organizers note, “for his refusal to authorize the wiretapping of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“During his years in the Justice Department, Mr. Clark played a key role in desegregating the South. He was an eyewitness and participant in a turbulent period of U.S. history,” the announcement continues. “Mr. Clark will share his recollections and observations of those years.”
Clark’s appearance is part of STCC’s 6th Annual Rosa Parks Day celebration. The talk, which begins at 11 a.m., will be held in the college’s Scibelli Hall (Building 2), on the seventh floor.
2) If your mood is more literary than political, then head tonight to Bay Path College for a talk by Jan Gardner. Gardner writes the Boston Globe’s “Shelf Life” column on New England authors and books (and, I’d be remiss not to note, is a Springfield native and Classical High alum).
Gardner, according to an announcement of the event, “will talk about her work and the book world in general,” including making recommendations for holiday gift ideas. Attendees will also have the chance to shop in the college bookstore.
The event is organized by Bay Path’s writer-in-residence, author Suzanne Strempek Shea, whose work includes her own Shelf Life, her memoir of working in Springfield’s late, lamented Edwards Bookstore.
Gardner’s talk will be held in Wright Hall’s Breck Suite, on Bay Path’s campus at 588 Longmeadow St., in Longmeadow. The event, which is free, starts at 7 p.m.
