U.S. Congressman Paul Tonko to View NEH-Funded Civil Rights Exhibit at College Library

September 1, 2015

What: U.S. Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20) will visit Hudson Valley Community College to view the National Endowment of Humanities-funded exhibit "Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, and the March on Washington, 1963." Separated by 100 years, the two historic events are explored in a traveling display on loan from the American Library Association and on exhibit in the college's Marvin Library Learning Commons through October 2.

Who: U.S. Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20); Hudson Valley Community College President Drew Matonak, Library Director Brenda Hazard, faculty, staff and students.

When: 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 2

Where: Marvin Library Learning Commons
Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation Atrium
Hudson Valley Community College
80 Vandenburgh Ave.
Troy, NY 12180

Details: The Dwight Marvin Library is one of only 50 libraries across the country to be chosen for this display. "Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963" is presented by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of American History in collaboration with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The exhibition is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and is part of NEH's Bridging Cultures initiative, "Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle," which brings four outstanding films on the civil rights movement to communities across the United States. "Created Equal" encourages communities across the country to revisit and reflect on the long history of civil rights in America.

Open to the public free of charge during library hours, the "Changing America" exhibit features reproductions of rare photographs and artifacts that commemorate two pivotal events in American history. Both are explored for their historical context, accomplishments and limitations, as well as their impact on the generations that followed. Hudson Valley's library also is sponsoring other free programs and events in connection with the exhibit.