Celebrate Black heritage with Gresham Library in August

Gresham Library is celebrating Black heritage with two events in August.

Honoring Black Heritage Through Art is a hands-on program led by Auzurea Caples which exploring techniques used by African and Black artists and engages participants to learn the techniques while incorporating their own style.

The event takes place from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10 at the Gresham Library, 385 N.W. Miller Ave. in Gresham. Slots are still available, but the program fills up at 20 participants, and preregistration is required.

Multnomah Library Events Specialist Brittany Wade said, “Auzurea is an incredible teacher. She creates a welcoming environment that celebrates the creative energy inside of everyone, regardless of their painting experience. It means so much to make art with others. Even gathering together to do that was a beautiful reflection and expression of Black heritage.”

The last workshop hosted by Caples was during Black Heritage Month this year in which nearly 20 community members of all ages participated.

From 3:30-4:15 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 18 the Gresham Library will host Black Storytime: Hip-Hop Summer Jam! which builds language and literacy skills for children entering kindergarten. Children from birth age to 6 years old, with an adult or family member, will have access to books, stories, songs, crafts and movement activities.

Danielle Jones, library youth development manager, said, “These storytimes affirm Black children’s self-esteem, impart an early literacy emphasis and mirror positive images of the culture while providing a window through which children can view themselves and others. Black storytimes build community, cultivate leadership, enrich language development and provide relevant educational opportunities for life long learning.”

Black Storytime is a longstanding program across Multnomah County Library locations, led by the library’s team of Black Cultural Library Advocates, which showcase Black-culture focused stories, songs, rhymes and more from the African and African-American experience.

Registration is not required for the Black Storytime and the room capacity is 64 people at the Gresham Library for the event.

Wade said, “We are delighted to bring rich gathering experiences to the Black residents of East County, because gathering together to learn and grow is affirming and empowering. It’s important to us that diverse communities feel a sense of belonging and ownership in their public spaces, and Gresham works hard to celebrate that belonging with events!”

Find more information online at multcolib.org/events-classes .