Smart Talks. Cold Drinks.
Presenting THINK & DRINK – where the curious gather. This ongoing lecture series delivers a wide array of topics that generate fresh perspectives, ideas, and discussion. These community-driven events are powered by a collaboration between UMKC, Linda Hall Library, The Third Place Historian, and Casual Animal Brewing Company.
Your RSVP below is appreciated to help us preset the room and accommodate as many seats as possible for interested attendees. You will also receive at least 1 reminder email about the event when you RSVP.
october 2: Freedom to Read: Local Impacts of Book Bans and Censorship
moderator: Erica Benson, The Third Place Historian
Panelists:
Rebecca Parker, KCPS LIbrarian
Cori Smith, BLK + BRWN. Bookstore
Gillian Wilcox, ACLU-MO
This will be a special event featuring a panel discussion on how book bans and censorship are affecting our local communities. Speaker bios can be found below. We hope you’ll join us and bring your questions on this topic!
Speaker Bios:
Rebecca Marcum Parker earned her BSE in English and Library Science Education and MA in Literature from the University of Central Missouri. She has 28 years’ experience as an inner-city school librarian, currently at East High School in the Kansas City (MO) School District. She is a member and former Treasurer of the Missouri Association for School Librarians (MASL) and the MASL Advocacy Committee Past Chair, in addition to being the Past President of the Greater Kansas City Association of School Librarians (GKCASL).
Rebecca is the author/co-author of several chapters in American Library Association and other anthologies. She serves on KKFI’s Heartland Labor Forum as an interviewer, often interviewing about censorship and freedom to read. She has served as a panel member for the Kansas City Public Library’s Ban These Books? Let’s Talk panel and Johnson County Library’s About Banning Books panel with KCPL’s and Johnson County Public Library collection development librarians.
Rebecca lives in the Kansas City Metro area with her husband, David, and has two amazing adult children, Natalie and Brad. She loves reading, collaborating, and striving to follow the Four Agreements.
Cori Smith is the founder of Field Notes by BLK + BRWN, a cultural strategy studio rooted in Black literature and storytelling, and the owner of BLK + BRWN. bookstore in Kansas City, with a mission to amplify Black and Brown storytelling. She partners with communities and organizations to build projects that celebrate and preserve Black memory and imagination.
Gillian Ruddy Wilcox joined the ACLU of Missouri in March 2014 as a staff attorney in our Kansas City office. As a part of the legal team, she investigates constitutional rights and civil liberties issues, identifies and prepares potential plaintiffs and witnesses, and works in all stages of litigation from trials to appeals in both state and federal court. She also serves as a legal resource for the ACLU of Missouri's legislative and policy work.
Before joining the ACLU, Gillian worked in both Minnesota and Missouri as a judicial law clerk. Gillian was also a staff attorney for Legal Aid of Western Missouri, where she represented neighborhood and nonprofit organizations in the urban core of Kansas City, with an emphasis on blight remediation and economic development; she continues to serve as a volunteer and is a member of Legal Aid’s board of trustees.
Gillian earned her Juris Doctor degree from Drake University Law School in 2007 and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology and Spanish from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She is a member of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, the Association for Women Lawyers of Kansas City, and serves on the Drake Law School Board of Counselors.
