Eldora Allen to reflect on Randolph County during Civil Rights era in Randleman library talk

RANDLEMAN – The Randleman Public Library will present “Black History Retrospective: Retired Educator Eldora Allen Looks Back on Education and Integration in Randolph County in the 1960s” at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 4.

Allen, who taught for over 40 years at the elementary level in the Randolph County Schools, attended Central School in Asheboro through 11th grade, and was part of the first integrated graduating class at Asheboro High School.

Her talk will center around life before the change and the impact integration had on her and other in her graduating class.

The event is free and the public is invited.

The library is located at 142 W. Academy Street. For further information, call 336-498-3141.

A & T history prof Smallwood to examine African American impact on early NC in Asheboro library talk

Dr. Arwin Smallwood

ASHEBORO  -- North Carolina A & T history professor Dr. Arwin Smallwood will resume a talk called “The Origins and Early History of North Carolina” that he began in September, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, February 13, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Smallwood originally set out to discuss the three groups that generated early North Carolina’s prosperity — Native Americans, European settlers and enslaved African Americans. So engaging was his presentation, however, that he only got about halfway through his talk due to questions and lively discussion.

So Smallwood will return to focus on the African American side of the story. His talk, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited.

North Carolina’s history was shaped by a mixture of ethnic influences. The state’s waterways and forests sustained Native American villages that were replaced in the 18th Century by English plantations, cleared for whites by African and Indian slaves.

In his earlier talk, Smallwood traced the story of Native Americans, largely gone from the state for 200 years, except for small populations. Now, he will turn his attention to enslaved African Americans and their descendants through the struggles of slavery, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights era.

The entwined histories are visible through dozens of maps Smallwood has created especially for this presentation, along with vivid illustrations of forgotten faces and moments from the past.

Smallwood was born in Windsor, North Carolina, and raised in Indian Woods, areas that figure prominently in his talks. He earned a bachelors degree in political science and a masters in history from North Carolina Central University, and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University.

Currently serving as chair of the N.C. A & T History Department, he has taught at Bradley University in Illinois and at the University of Memphis, where he helped develop a Ph.D. program in African American history, the only one of its kind in the country. He is recipient of numerous awards, fellowships and grants, and participated in the award-winning UNC-TV documentary “The Birth of a Colony: North Carolina.”

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Elizabeth Smart to launch 2020 Asheboro Sunset Series

Elizabeth Smart

ASHEBORO – The abduction of Elizabeth Smart was one of the most followed child abduction cases of our time.

Smart was abducted at age 14 on June 5, 2002, and her captors controlled her by threatening to kill her if she tried to escape. Fortunately, police safely returned Smart to her family on March 12, 2003, after she had been held for nine grueling months.

Through this traumatic experience, Smart has become an advocate for change related to child abduction, recovery programs and national legislation. She triumphantly testified before her captor and the world about the very private nightmare she suffered during her captivity, which led to his conviction.

Smart will bring the story of her journey from abduction to empowerment to the first installment of the 2020 Friends of the Library Sunset Signature Series at
7 p.m. Saturday, February 15, in downtown Asheboro’s historic Sunset Theatre. Her appearance is free and the public is invited.

The Sunset Series is sponsored by the Heart of North Carolina Visitors Bureau, the City of Asheboro and the Friends of the Randolph County Public Library.

Smart chronicled her experience in her New York Times best-selling book My Story. She and other abduction survivors also worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to create a survivor’s guide, You’re Not Alone: The Journey from Abduction to Empowerment.

In 2018, she published Where There’s Hope: Healing, Moving Forward and Never Giving Up, a close-up glimpse into her healing process and a heartfelt how-to for readers to make peace with the past and embrace the future.

Smart also is founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, which convenes partner organizations to prevent crimes against children and provide survivors with resources for recovery.

Smart’s abduction and recovery continue to motivate parents, law enforcement and leaders worldwide to focus on children’s safety. She emphasizes vigilance by “everyday” people and the belief that hope always exists to find every missing child.

Smart attended Brigham Young University. She and her husband Matthew have two children.

Following Smart, the remaining Sunset Series events include:
• Performance speed painter Tim Decker, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 14;
• Jeopardy champion and “Greatest of All Time” Ken Jennings, 7p.m. Saturday, April 14;
• Top of the World, a Carpenters tribute band, 7 p.m. Friday, May 22.

The Sunset Theatre is located at 234 Sunset Avenue. Seating is first-come first-served.

For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Make ‘Winter Wonderland’ snow globes at Franklinville library

FRANKLINVILLE – Got the winter doldrums?

Shake things up by designing your own snow globes and making winter-themed slime as you learn about the unique properties of snowflakes, at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 28, at the Franklinville Public Library.

Children ages 8 and up are invited. It’s free, but please sign up at the library or call 336-685-3100 by January 24.

The event is sponsored by the library and Randolph County 4-H.

The library is located at 111 Sumner Place.

Learn how to avoid ‘sweetheart scams’ in Asheboro library talk

ASHEBORO – A potential romantic partner makes contact with you through a social media site, online dating site or an online game such as Words with Friends.

Sound promising — but is it the setup for a scam?

Just in time for Valentines, find out how to avoid getting hooked by “Sweetheart Scams” with Officer Guadalupe Gonzales of the Asheboro Police Department, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, January 27, at the Asheboro Public Library.

The talk is free and the public is invited.

In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission reported that individuals lost over $143 million to romance scams. Gonzales will share some of the techniques that scammers use to ensnare the lovelorn as they lavish the target with attention but began sharing sad stories and requesting increasingly large amounts of money.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Start new year of right with ‘Keys to Best Health’ at Seagrove library

SEAGROVE – Start your nutritional new year off right with “Keys to Your Best Health” at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 22, at the Seagrove Public Library.

Randolph County Wellness Coordinator Sam Varner will talk about how to begin your journey to optimal health in 2020. Varner, a former U.S. Olympic Team strength and conditioning coach, has degrees in nutrition and food science.

The talk is free and the public is invited.

The Seagrove library is located at 530 Old Plank Road. For further information, call 336-873-7521.

Pulitzer Prize winner David Zucchino to debut Wilmington’s Lie in Asheboro library talk

David Zucchino

ASHEBORO – What has gone down in history as a “race riot” in 1898 Wilmington, North Carolina, actually was the violent, white supremacist overthrow of a duly-elected, racially-mixed, local government.

The shocking story of that event is the topic of Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author.

Zucchino will debut his book at 7 p.m. Thursday, January 30, at the Asheboro Public Library. His talk, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited.

In Wilmington’s Lie, Zucchino uses contemporary newspaper accounts, diaries, letters and official communications to create a gripping and compelling narrative that weaves together individual stories of hate and fear and brutality, creating a dramatic and definitive account of a remarkable but forgotten chapter of American hisotry.

Zucchino was awarded the 1989 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing for dispatches from apartheid South Africa, “Being Black in South Africa,” for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Based in Durham, N.C., Zucchino now is a contributing writer for The New York Times. He has covered wars and civil conflicts in more than two dozen countries, and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist for his reporting from Iraq, Lebanon, Africa and inner-city Philadelphia.

He is the author of the books  The Myth of the Welfare Queen and Thunder Run.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803