Tuesday, April 8th, 7:00 pm
Film Screening — Freedom Riders
The Freedom Rides of 1961 were a pivotal moment in the long Civil Rights struggle that redefined America. Based on Raymond Arsenault’s recent book, this documentary film offers an inside look at the brave band of activists who challenged segregation in the Deep South. At the Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds, 286 Waverley Avenue. Free.

Thursday, April 17th, 7:00 pm
Panel Discussion — Civil Rights Activism Past and Present
Activism took many forms in the sixties, as it does today. Hear stories of people who fought for equality then – from Freedom Riders to local residents – and their discussion about the successes and failures of the Civil Rights movement. Join in the discussion with your own stories and thoughts about how we can apply these lessons to the present and future. Panelists include Paul Breines (Freedom Rider), Katherine Butler Jones (METCO founder and director), and Walter Carrington (Commissioner 1957-1961, MA Commission Against Discrimination). At the Newton Senior Center, 345 Walnut St. Free.

Wednesday, April 30th, 7:00 pm
Lecture — The New Black
Harvard Law Professor Kenneth Mack will speak from his latest book, entitled The New Black: What Has Changed – and What Has Not – With Race in America, which reexamines the familiar framework of the Civil Rights movement and challenges our understandings of the politics of race, racial identity and race-based inequality in a new century. Ranging from the challenges of contemporary civil rights organizing strategies, to immigration, to racial profiling, to the election of Barack Obama to the presidency, he will attempt to sketch for us the new boundaries of the debate over race in America. At the Newton Senior Center, 345 Walnut St. Free.

The Jackson Homestead and Museum is open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Tuesday through Friday, and Noon to 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday. The Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds is open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Wednesday through Friday, and Noon to 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday. Visit www.historicnewton.org for more information about  museums and programs.

The Futures of Learning in a Networked World is a free event to be held at Mason Rice School on April 9th.  Digital technologies are transforming civic life and the working world, and they are reshaping the skills and dispositions that young people need to thrive. How should schools adapt to a changing world, and what practices should be held constant as the world changes?

Understanding the answers to these questions requires understanding how computing technologies are rearranging the kinds of work that people do, and the new possibilities for learning created by new technologies. Join in a conversation through this terrain with Justin Reich, Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society and the co-founder of EdTechTeacher.

Justin is a co-author of Best Ideas for Teaching with Technology: A Practical Guide for Teachers by Teachers, and his academic work has been published in Educational Researcher, Social Education, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, and other venues.  His website is www.edtechresearcher.com and his bio is can be seen here https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/jreich

Wednesday April 9th from 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Event co-sponsored by Cabot PTO, Mason-Rice PTO, and the PTO Council

As part of its series, The Civil Rights Movement Then & Now, Historic Newton is hosting a lecture by author and civil rights lawyer, Gordon Martin.

Shortly after completing law school, Gordon Martin was one of a dozen lawyers working for the Civil Rights Division of Robert Kennedy’s Justice Department. In 1963, he prepared United States v. Theron Lynd, the Justice Department’s first major voting rights case to go to trial in Mississippi. He will speak about this experience and its brave witnesses, who are the subject of his book, Count Them One by One: Black Mississippians Fighting for the Right to Vote.

Date: Wednesday, April 2
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Durant-Kenrick House, 286 Waverley Avenue.
Free and open to the public

Co-sponsored by the Newton Human Rights Commission, Myrtle Baptist Church, and the Newton Department of Senior Services.

QPR suicide prevention training will be held in Newton on April 2nd , 7th, and 15th. QPR stands for question, persuade, refer and is an educational program that teaches ordinary citizens to recognize the warning signs of suicide, offer hope and get help for those in need. This program is for adults. To register visit www.newtonma.gov/newtoncares.