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CPL Presents: Johnisha Matthews Levi, the author of Numbers Up (Main Library)

Location

Main Library
Lecture Hall
449 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02138

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Description

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For four decades, Johnisha Matthews Levi believed a conventional story about her birth, picturing her happy parents at the hospital together. While sorting through her late mother's belongings, however, she discovered a document indicating that her father was instead serving time in Lorton Correctional Complex. This revelation, along with rumors about an FBI investigation of her deceased parents' "private business," leads Levi to unearth the hidden history of her family. She ties this story to public policy, demonstrating how state lottery legalization and the War on Drugs disrupted the Black institutions and communities in Washington, DC. Registration is required.

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Last Updated: 1/13/2026
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