The stunning Austin Central Library, already a finalist for the International Federation of Library Associations’ Public Library of the Year, leaped in prestige by winning LEED Platinum Building Certification this summer. The award confirms that the space’s design and construction exemplify the utmost concern for human and environmental health. The library scored high marks for its green power, water-recycling systems, daylight use, views and community connectivity. Yet, we should feel . . .
Tribeza Magazine’s Person of the Year 2017
It is an honor to be featured in Tribeza Magazine's People of the Year for 2017-the artists, thinkers, builders, and visionaries shaping the future of Austin. . . .
St. David’s Foundation Toast of the Town 2017
It's Toast Time in Austin, the wonderful season when exceptional parties bloom around town in support of the St. David's Foundation Neal Kocurek Scholarship Fund. I had the distinct pleasure of participating in the first two parties this year. I moderated a discussion with Karan Mahajan, author of The Association Small Bombs, at Saturday afternoon's event, then appeared on Tuesday night with Shaka at a party where he was the featured speaker. Both were great opportunities to show support for . . .
Austin Way’s Renaissance Women
I'm so excited to be included in Austin Way's listing of Renaissance Women—creative players behind Austin's arts scene. . . .
Ruthless Good: The Great Austin Scavenger Hunt
On April 8, Ruthless Good: The Great Austin Scavenger Hunt will dispatch dozens of teams from the Long Center to crack clues, solve trivia challenges, and discover photo-worthy landmarks and locales. But the rolicking hunt’s true aim is problem solving on a much grander scale–bolstering equitable community-wide access to health, education and work. . . .
Ready to Amplify Austin? Here’s How.
As a relatively new Austinite, I was honored to join Kendra Scott, Mayor Steve Adler, Andy Roddick, Brooklyn Decker, Aaron Franklin, Celeste Flores and Earl Maxwell in a special video for Amplify Austin Day. . . .
Today’s Hidden Figures
A particularly moving scene in the film Hidden Figures takes place not at NASA but in the public library of Hampton, Virginia. Mathematician Dorothy Vaughn steers clear of vocal civil rights protests on her way into the library. Yet her visit is cut short when a white librarian warns her: “We don’t want any trouble in here,” as she considers a computer programming text on a shelf. Vaughn’s only seeking knowledge — a book that can’t be found in the colored section — yet she and her . . .
Austin Writers Resist: A Counter-Inauguration
I was honored to stand with Austin's writing community and writers across the country for an evening of rapid-fire readings designed to renew our energy and help us find the language and stories we need to fight for a free, just and compassionate society. Participating writers included Sarah Bird, Elizabeth McCracken, Cyrus Cassells, Sasha West, Tammy Gomez, and Chaitali Sen. . . .
I, Too, Arts Collective
Hi, I'm Maya, and I'd love to tell you about the I, Too, Arts Collective. This is a new non-profit initiative being launched by author Renée Watson to preserve and build on the legacy of poet, Langston Hughes. I was so excited when I heard that Renée was doing this, because, like so many people, I have enjoyed the poetry of Langston Hughes since I was a little, little kid. In fact, I still have my very first book of poetry, which is called My Black Me: A Beginning Book of Black Poetry, which . . .
The Defender: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America
A recent visit to Chicago for BookExpo America transported me back to 2005, when I visited the offices of historic black newspaper The Chicago Defender. At the time, I was a grad student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, visiting to interview then-editor Roland Martin about his plans for reviving the paper at its 100th anniversary. Martin peered over a sleek silver laptop, surrounded by books and papers, and opined in an authoritative staccato about newspaper . . .
