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“If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression.” - Combahee River Collective, April 1977 Come to the Central Square Library to gather for a reading of the Combahee River Collective (CRC) statement. Centered in Black feminist lesbian socialist politics, the CRC argued for the centering of anti-racist and anti-sexist politics within feminist and civil rights organizing respectively. Though the CRC is no longer active, its work and its members continue to have deep influence in Black feminism and beyond. We will read the statement aloud together, sharing the words and wisdom of the Combahee River Collective with opportunity to discuss their continued resonance. This event will be followed by a 4-session reading group to discuss the second edition of How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. For more information and to register for the reading group, please see here. This event was created in partnership with Community Conversations: Sister to Sister, the Cambridge LGBTQ+ Commission, and the Cambridge Women’s Commission.

Challenge your balance and willpower, build strength and confidence! Join us for a fun intro to martial arts! We will introduce basic kicks and self-defense. Recommended for kids aged 5 to 11, along with their caregivers (kids at heart). Children under the age of 7 must be accompanied by an adult.

We will read folktales about cats and compare the different stories as inspiration to write an original tale to be performed on a tiny stage. Using a ChompSaw (a kid-safe power tool), participants will safely cut cardboard to create shadow puppets. We'll host a performance of our masterpiece for family and friends on the final session. This four-week puppetry workshop is for youth ages 8-12 and meets 5:00-6:30 p.m. on Thursdays October 8, 15, 22 and 29. Registration is required. Participants must attend all sessions and have read any folktale about cats before the first session. Visit the Children's Room to pick up a copy of a book. For questions about Puppetry Studio, please email Natalie at nzylicz@cambridgema.gov or call 617-349-4038.

We will read folktales about cats and compare the different stories as inspiration to write an original tale to be performed on a tiny stage. Using a ChompSaw (a kid-safe power tool), participants will safely cut cardboard to create shadow puppets. We'll host a performance of our masterpiece for family and friends on the final session. This four-week puppetry workshop is for youth ages 8-12 and meets 5:00-6:30 p.m. on Thursdays October 8, 15, 22 and 29. Registration is required. Participants must attend all sessions and have read any folktale about cats before the first session. Visit the Children's Room to pick up a copy of a book. For questions about Puppetry Studio, please email Natalie at nzylicz@cambridgema.gov or call 617-349-4038.

We will read folktales about cats and compare the different stories as inspiration to write an original tale to be performed on a tiny stage. Using a ChompSaw (a kid-safe power tool), participants will safely cut cardboard to create shadow puppets. We'll host a performance of our masterpiece for family and friends on the final session. This four-week puppetry workshop is for youth ages 8-12 and meets 5:00-6:30 p.m. on Thursdays October 8, 15, 22 and 29. Registration is required. Participants must attend all sessions and have read any folktale about cats before the first session. Visit the Children's Room to pick up a copy of a book. For questions about Puppetry Studio, please email Natalie at nzylicz@cambridgema.gov or call 617-349-4038.

We will read folktales about cats and compare the different stories as inspiration to write an original tale to be performed on a tiny stage. Using a ChompSaw (a kid-safe power tool), participants will safely cut cardboard to create shadow puppets. We'll host a performance of our masterpiece for family and friends on the final session. This four-week puppetry workshop is for youth ages 8-12 and meets 5:00-6:30 p.m. on Thursdays October 8, 15, 22 and 29. Registration is required. Participants must attend all sessions and have read any folktale about cats before the first session. Visit the Children's Room to pick up a copy of a book. For questions about Puppetry Studio, please email Natalie at nzylicz@cambridgema.gov or call 617-349-4038.

Join us for movie night at the Valente Branch to celebrate Black History Month! WE WANT THE FUNK! is a syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, spanning from African, soul, and early jazz roots, to its rise into the public consciousness. Registration helpful.

October selection: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins Join us at the Collins Branch to discuss a selection of fiction and non-fiction titles for adults. Print copies are available to pick up during library hours. For more information, contact Jo Percell (they/them) at jpercell@cambridgema.gov

Come watch a film on the Central Square Library’s big screen and eat free popcorn! No registration required, feel free to drop in. No Registration required. The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.

On the first and second Mondays we’re opening up the Curious George Room on the third floor for ages 10 –12 to snack, relax, and play video games. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and we invite all tweens to make this space their own! There are no tickets or registration required. Please call 617-349-4038 for more information.