Marley Dias Will Soon Be An Author

It seems that there is an abundance of negativity in the news lately. To lighten things up just a bit for Black History Month, I'd like to call our attention to Miss Marley Dias, the young founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks. Recently, it was announced that she will be writing a book of her own. Read the story here: http://nymag.com/thecut/2017/02/1000blackgirlbooks-marley-dias-is-writing-her-own-book.html

You can also check out Marley on the hilarious and informative podcast, Another Round. She did an episode with them last year. How many of us were this articulate and driven at 11 years old?

https://soundcloud.com/anotherroundwithhebenandtracy/episode-55-1000blackgirlbooks

Be on the lookout for big things from Marley during the next few years! Let's keep doing what we can to inspire young book lovers like her.

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Daliyah Marie Arana at the LOC

How much cuteness can fit into one library news story? Well, it doesn't get much more adorable than Miss Daliyah Marie Arana, who was the first "Librarian for the Day" at the Library of Congress last week. Daliyah is a four-year-old super reader who won the honor after reading 1,000+ books. It's so inspiring to see Daliyah hanging out with Dr. Carla Hayden.

Read more about Daliyah's visit to the Library of Congress here: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/01/17/newsmaker-daliyah-marie-arana/

Thanks to our community liaison for sharing this story with us!

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NYE & Emancipation Proclamation

Happy New Year!!

As we bring in 2017, the Gregory School would like to take a moment to remember the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It is a tradition in the African American community to attend "Watch Night" services on New Year's Eve. Many people assume that this is simply an end-of-year church service, but Watch Night actually is directly connected to the Emancipation Proclamation. Read about the history of Watch Night here (http://www.npr.org/2012/12/29/167905308/watch-nights-honor-emancipation-proclamations-anniversary) and here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-joan-r-harrell/watch-night-service-in-the-black-church-in-america-150-years-_b_2389965.html).

For more information on the Emancipation Proclamation, click below.
National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation
Library of Congress: https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/almintr.html

We hope you had a wonderful winter vacation. Here's to a productive, peaceful, and prosperous 2017!


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Remembering Dorie Miller, a Pearl Harbor Hero

As many people commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, we call attention to Mr. Doris "Dorie" Miller. Miller was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the attack. Born in Waco, Miller is an important figure in Texas history. Read about current efforts to grant him a posthumous Medal of Honor in the news article linked below.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2016/12/07/dorie-millers-fans-keep-fighting-honor-black-sailors-pearl-harbor-heroism

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