The Friends of the Lincoln Library present “An Evening with Sybrina Fulton, Mother of Trayvon Martin: Cultivating Justice Toward Racial Equality” via Zoom on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. Since the death of her 17-year-old son Trayvon, Fulton has become a role model to many by turning her grief into advocacy. Her book co-authored with Tracy Martin, Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin, shares the intimate story of a tragically foreshortened life and the rise of a movement that awoke a nation’s conscience. Her February 24 topics include “We Are All Trayvon” and “From Pain to Purpose: The Time is Now to Own Democracy.” Click here for more information and registration.
John Clark and his Great American Music experience will begin a travelogue along the road to freedom that begins in the days of the Underground Railroad. After the Civil War, the Fisk Jubilee Singers (1870s) and Bert Williams (early 1900s) represent an affirmation of the proud heritage of African-Americans. In the early 20th century, the first freedom anthems emerged. Email gagnea@lincolntown.org to sign up (Zoom link will be sent out on February 24).
The Green Energy Committee is hosting several heat pump information sessions. The first will be Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. and will focus on condominiums in Lincoln. Click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Harvard ornithologist Scott Edwards will discuss “Bicycling, Birding and #BLM Across America in a Summer of Chaos” on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. The talk is part of the “On Belonging in Outdoor Spaces” speaker series on access, inclusion, & connection in nature (spring 2022 funding provided by the Ogden Codman Trust). Discussing his 76-day, 3,800-mile bicycle trek across the U.S. with “Black Lives Matter” signs affixed to his bicycle, Scott will reflect on the people, landscapes, and birds he encountered and convey the challenges, generosity, and hope that inspired and surprised him throughout his journey. Click here to register and receive the meeting link.
See a screening of a TED Talk by Heather McGhee as well as an interview by Laura Flanders with McGhee discussing The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together on Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. on Zoom, sponsored by the First Parish in Lincoln’s Racial Justice Advocates. In her book, interview, and TED Talk, McGhee shows not only the cost of racism for everyone — not just people of color — but also offers us a road map for a better future for all. An expert in economic and social policy, McGhee has been applauded for her remarkable data-driven research and her thoughtful interviews with a variety of people and experts. Click here for the Zoom link (passcode: 034126).
Three Lincoln authors with shared interests in justice, history, and the environment discuss how their Lincoln experiences have shaped their numerous writing projects on Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. The Zoom link will be posted on the Lincoln Public Library website closer to the event. The speakers are:
- Elise Lemire, author of Battle Green Vietnam: The 1971 March on Concord, Lexington, and Bostonand Black Walden: Slavery and Its Aftermath in Concord, Massachusetts
- Katie Ives, editor in chief of Alpinist. Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams is her first book.
- Judy Polumbaum, University of Iowa professor emerita of journalism and mass communication and a former newspaper reporter and magazine writer. Lincoln figures prominently in her latest book, All Available Light: The Life and Legacy of Photographer Ted Polumbaum, a biography-memoir of her photojournalist-social activist father.
In 1781, Elizabeth Freeman, known as “Mum Bett,” successfully sued for her freedom from the bonds of slavery in a pivotal case argued before the Massachusetts courts. That same year, Quock Walker also sued for his freedom and won. The winning argument in both cases was that slavery was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts Constitution. Lincoln resident Ron Chester, a professor at the New England School of Law, will discuss these cases and their importance on Friday, March 4 at 1 p.m. Email gagnea@lincolntown.org to sign up for this Zoom session.
The Lincoln Democratic Town Committee will hold a caucus on Monday, March 7 from 7–8:30 p.m. (Zoom room opens at 6:30) to elect five delegates and four alternates to the 2022 Massachusetts Democratic Party Convention in Worcester on June 4. All Democrats registered in Lincoln are eligible not only to vote but also to be a delegate. Youth, minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ individuals who are not elected as a delegate or alternate may apply to be an add-on delegate to the caucus or at www.massdems.org. See the Lincoln Dems website for more information and click here to register for the caucus (after registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting).
The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable presents “Transforming the Culture of ‘Power Over’: Compassionate Accountability” on Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. The virtual event will help participants make key distinctions among safe relationship cycles and the dynamics that occur within relationships based on abusive values of dominance and superiority. It’s presented by the Roundtable’s White Ribbon Group and follows its successful event in March 2021, “A Call to Families: Discussing Healthy Masculinity with Young People.” Speakers will be JAC Patrissi, Jason Patrissi, and Regi Wingo of Growing a New Heart, an organization that aims to facilitate respectful and ethical power relationships and communications in families, workplaces, and communities. Click here to register.
Join us for “Uncovering Soil: An Intro to the World Beneath Our Feet,” the first class of the Healthy Soils workshop series, on Tuesday, March 8 from 7–8 p.m. This Zoom session will give an academic overview of what soil is and how it functions as a carbon sink that can help reverse climate change. Soil ecologist and Lincoln resident Rachel Neurath will share her expertise and enthusiasm for this underappreciated ecosystem. The series continues with in-person classes at Codman Farm every few weeks this spring. Click here to register and get the Zoom link. Healthy Soils is a collaboration among the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Codman Community Farms, and Mothers Out Front.
Dr. Thea James, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Boston Medical Center/BU School of Medicine, will discuss “Race & Health Equity in Boston: How We Can Achieve Healthy Communities for All” on Thursday, March 10 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Questions she’ll address include: How did health inequities in Boston arise, and how have they persisted? What are the links with challenges in housing, economic development, and other social issues? How can communities in Greater Boston create effective partnerships to build healthy communities? Hosted by the FPL Racial Justice Advocates and Outreach Committee; cosponsored by the Lincoln Public Library, Lincoln WIDE, and the Lincoln Council on Aging and Human Resources. Click here to register.
The Lincoln PTO will hold a debate featuring candidates running in the March 28 town election on Wednesday, March 16 from 7–9 p.m. The event will take place in the newly renovated Brooks Auditorium and will also be live-streamed and recorded.
Moderating the event will be PTO co-chair Rob Stringer and former PTO president Carol Kasper. All of the candidates for the four contested races (Select Board, Lincoln School Committee, L-S School Committee, and Planning Board) have said they will participate, as have most of those who are running uncontested. “We really want everyone to get to know all the candidates,” Stringer said.
Each candidate will have two minutes to introduce themselves and will then face questions from the moderators. There will also be Q&A opportunities for the audience, probably with questions written down and sent to the moderators as with recent Town Meetings.
National issues have trickled down into local politics in many cities and towns, “but we want to make sure it stays civil and nobody feels attacked from the right or the left. We are still neighbors,” Stringer said.
Details and online links will be announced closer to the event.
The L-S Music Department presents their annual Pops Concert on Thursday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. The String Orchestra’s program will include “Simple Gifts” arranged by Carrie L. Gruselle and a John Williams trilogy arranged by Calvin Custer. Symphonic Band will perform music from the motion picture “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Chicago: Pop and Rock Legends.” Concert Band will perform highlights from the Disney movie “Moana” as well as selections from “The Best of Journey.” The Treble Choir, Concert Choir, Combined L-S Choirs, and Singing Valentines quartets will perform songs by the Backstreet Boys, Queen, and Disney’s “Tangled.”
Lincoln-Sudbury Friends of Music (LSFOM) will offer a pops concert-themed goodie bag for sale at the concert, which will air in both Sudbury and Lincoln on Comcast channel 9 / Verizon channel 32 and live-stream here.
Deep racial disparities persist in our society, and research tells us that children begin to notice and assign meaning to skin color by age 2. This makes racial literacy a critical part of preparing our children to lead lives as engaged, equity-minded problem-solvers in the world.
Geared for White or multiracial parents and caregivers, “ABCs of Racism: Fostering Antiracist Conversation and Action with Kids” on Wednesday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m. will be led by Wee the People, a Boston-based social justice group, and explores fundamental concepts of systemic racism, the barriers that block us from engaging with kids around race and racism, the social science of race awareness in children, and strategies to start and sustain antiracist and action in school and at home. Sponsored by the Lincoln Public Library. Email dleopold@minlib.net for the Zoom link.
“Redressing Injustices of the Past: Building Wealth in Communities of Color” is the title of a Zoom talk by Glynn Lloyd, Executive Director, Foundation for Business Equity on Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m. Income inequality and financial insecurity are foundational to structural racism. The Federal Reserve cites the median net worth of a White family as $171,000 compared to $17,600 for a Black family. How are banks and financial institutions making amends for the redlining practices of the past? To what extent do lending barriers still exist for Black and Brown families and businesses? A pioneer in the field of transformative urban economic development, Lloyd helped found the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and most recently the Coalition for an Equitable Economy.
Hosted by the First Parish in Lincoln Racial Justice Advocates and co-sponsored by the Lincoln Public Library and Lincoln WIDE. Click here to register.
FELS, the Foundation for Educators at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, will present its annual Faye Goldberg-Scheff Memorial Lecture on Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m. in the lecture hall at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.
This year’s talk will focus on the impact of educational innovation and technology on teaching and learning in today’s diverse classroom. The evening will feature panelists who will approach the topics from a wide range of professional perspectives. They will share their thoughts about the challenges and opportunities in education via innovation, interventions, neuroscience, technology, and equity and inclusion that have arisen in the first two decades of this new century and their impacts on teaching and learning. Click here for details on the panelists.
Admission is $10. All proceeds will benefit FELS, a nonprofit organization that awards enrichment grants to L-S faculty and staff to pursue their professional and personal interests and passions.
Developer Tracy Fullerton, director emeritus of the USC Games program, will discuss the evolution and intention of the classroom computer game “Walden, a Game: A Virtual Experience” and provide a brief demonstration of the newest module, “Civil Disobedience,” on Tuesday, March 29 from 7–8 p.m. Educators will speak to their experience using the game in the classroom, followed an audience Q&A. Click here to learn more and register.
We’ve all heard the phrase “we’re all in this together” countless times in the last two years, and now we can hear it in a joyful, new way: in the Lincoln middle school performance of Disney’s “High School Musical Jr.,” featuring many familiar songs from the movie, including “We’re All in This Together.” The show will feature a cast and crew of 60 creative and dedicated students in grades 5–8. Shows will be on Wednesday, March 30 at 3 p.m., and Thursday and Friday, April 1 and 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door ($10 for adults $10, $5 for students/seniors/LPS employees). Running time is approximately one hour with no intermission.
Kristin Hall, the show’s director, did two shows with the middle schoolers during the pandemic. The first, “Charlotte’s Web” in April 2021, had the actors record their scenes while apart, and everything was then edited together and streamed to ticket holders. Then in December 2021, the students did “A Wrinkle in Time,” where the actors performed masked and together (but distanced) and ticket holders were again able to watch over a weekend.