{"id":433,"date":"2017-10-02T10:04:40","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T09:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/?p=433"},"modified":"2026-02-19T15:42:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T15:42:59","slug":"looking-forward-to-freedom-city-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/looking-forward-to-freedom-city-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking forward to Freedom City 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>2017 marks 50 years since <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/\">Newcastle University<\/a> awarded <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/congregations\/honorary\/martinlutherking\/\">Dr Martin Luther King Jr. an honorary doctorate,<\/a> the only British university to do so during his lifetime. Newcastle is commemorating this throughout the autumn in a city-wide festival, <\/strong><strong>Freedom City 2017.<\/strong><strong> This posts looks forward to the joint events that Newcastle University and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sevenstories.org.uk\/\">Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children\u2019s Books<\/a> are presenting as part of the festival.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On 13th\u00a0November 1967, Dr King came to Newcastle to accept his award, and in a moving address spoke of <em>\u201cthree urgent, and indeed, great, problems that we face not only in the United States of America, but all over the world, today. That is the problem of racism, the problem of poverty, and the problem of war.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cYu8mX7QYZk?start=8&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Half a century on, the Freedom City 2017 festival aims to focus on these three problems, bringing Dr King\u2019s legacy to life for a new generation and stimulating debate.<\/p>\n<p>Newcastle University and Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children\u2019s Books are both getting involved in the commemorations, and the two organisations are collaborating to present a number of joint events.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_436\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-436\" style=\"width: 683px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-436\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/613-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE. Image: Ayo Banton.\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/613-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/613-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/613-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/613.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-436\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE. Image: Ayo Banton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5><strong>Fickling Lecture on Developments in Children\u2019s Literature<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p><strong>Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE on \u2018Facing Adversity with a Smile\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Tuesday 3rd\u00a0October 2017, 5.30 \u2013 6.45pm, Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, Newcastle University<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t think of a better way to start our joint Freedom City 2017 programme, and this year\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/events\/public-lectures\/\">INSIGHTS public lectures,<\/a> than with the annual <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/events\/noticeboard\/item\/facingadversitywithasmile.html\">Fickling Lecture on Developments in Children\u2019s Literature.<\/a> Tomorrow evening,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.floellabenjamin.com\/\">Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE<\/a> will be talking about her childhood journey from Trinidad to Britain, the subject of her bestselling children\u2019s book, <em>Coming to England<\/em> (1995).<\/p>\n<p>Floella is also an actress, presenter (I have very early memories of seeing Floella on the BBC\u2019s <em>Play School<\/em> and its successors), writer, independent producer, businesswoman and working peer. She has campaigned for 25 years on behalf of children and young people, and for diversity to be reflected in every aspect of our society.<\/p>\n<p>This event is presented by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/elll\/\">Newcastle University\u2019s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics<\/a> and Seven Stories, and is supported by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.davidficklingbooks.com\/\">David Fickling Books.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Free admission, all seats allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/events\/noticeboard\/item\/facingadversitywithasmile.html\">http:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/events\/noticeboard\/item\/facingadversitywithasmile.html<\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_437\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-437\" style=\"width: 318px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-437\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/616.jpg\" alt=\"Crongton Knights by Alex Wheatle. Image: Atom.\" width=\"318\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/616.jpg 318w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/616-191x300.jpg 191w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 318px) 85vw, 318px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-437\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crongton Knights by Alex Wheatle. Image: Atom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5><strong>Into Crongton with Alex Wheatle<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p><em>Thursday 23rd\u00a0November 2017, 6pm \u2013 7pm, followed by a book signing, Percy Building, Newcastle University<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Alex Wheatle MBE, winner of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2016\/nov\/17\/alex-wheatle-wins-2016-guardian-childrens-fiction-prize\">Guardian Children\u2019s Fiction Prize 2016<\/a> and author of young adult novels <em>Liccle Bit (2015), Crongton Knights (2016)<\/em> and <em>Straight Outta Crongton (2017),<\/em> will be in conversation with Professor Karen Sands O\u2019Connor (SUNY Buffalo State) in this free author event.<\/p>\n<p>How do the Freedom City 2017 themes of war, poverty and racism play out in Crongton, where gangs rule the streets? We\u2019ll find out\u2026<\/p>\n<p>This event is jointly hosted by Newcastle University\u2019s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics and Seven Stories.<\/p>\n<p><em>Free admission, book online in advance.<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sevenstories.org.uk\/whats-on\/events\/123368\/into-crongton-with-alex-wheatle\">https:\/\/www.sevenstories.org.uk\/whats-on\/events\/123368\/into-crongton-with-alex-wheatle<\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-438\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-438\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/K4A4570-Edited-1024x683-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Local schoolchildren visit Seven Stories. Image: Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books, photography by Richard Kenworthy.\" width=\"840\" height=\"560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/K4A4570-Edited-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/K4A4570-Edited-1024x683-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/K4A4570-Edited-1024x683-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-438\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Local schoolchildren visit Seven Stories. Image: Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children&#8217;s Books, photography by Richard Kenworthy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5><strong>Diverse Voices? Curating a National History of Children\u2019s Books <\/strong><\/h5>\n<p><em>Friday 24th\u00a0November 2017, 9.30am \u2013 6pm, Seven Stories<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Seven Stories is the National Centre for Children\u2019s Books \u2013 how are Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic voices represented in our national story of children\u2019s literature?<\/p>\n<p>In this one-day symposium, we\u2019ll be exploring this question with speakers including Sita Brahmachari, Candy Gourlay, Jake Hope, Catherine Johnson, Patrice Lawrence, SI Martin, Beverley Naidoo, SF Said, Professor Karen Sands O\u2019Connor, Alex Wheatle OBE and Verna Wilkins.<\/p>\n<p>This event is jointly hosted by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/socialrenewal\/\">Newcastle University\u2019s Institute for Social Renewal<\/a> and Seven Stories.<\/p>\n<p><em>Free admission and places are strictly limited so booking is essential. Please <\/em><a href=\"mailto:rachel.pattinson@ncl.ac.uk?subject=Diverse%20Voices%20event,%2024th%20November\"><em>email me<\/em><\/a><em> if you are interested in attending this event.<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/research.ncl.ac.uk\/diversevoices\/\">http:\/\/research.ncl.ac.uk\/diversevoices\/<\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-439\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-439\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/618.jpg\" alt=\"Catherine Johnson (left) and Patrice Lawrence (right).\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/618.jpg 700w, https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/files\/2017\/09\/618-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-439\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Catherine Johnson (left) and Patrice Lawrence (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5><strong>In Conversation with Catherine Johnson and Patrice Lawrence<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p><em>Friday 24<sup>th<\/sup> November 2017, 4.30 \u2013 6pm, Seven Stories<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re opening up the last session of the Diverse Voices symposium to a broader audience. Join us to hear authors <a href=\"http:\/\/www.catherinejohnson.co.uk\/\">Catherine Johnson<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/patricelawrence.wordpress.com\/\">Patrice Lawrence<\/a> talk about their work and reflect on issues around children\u2019s literature and race.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve just enjoyed reading Catherine\u2019s <em>The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo<\/em> (2015), and Patrice\u2019s first book <em>Orangeboy<\/em> (2016) was a fantastic (and deservedly award-winning) debut. They\u2019ll be chaired by teacher Darren Chetty, who contributed to the 2016 anthology <em>The Good Immigrant.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This event is jointly hosted by Newcastle University\u2019s Institute for Social Renewal and Seven Stories.<\/p>\n<p><em>Admission: \u00a32.50. Book online in advance. <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sevenstories.org.uk\/whats-on\/events\/123370\/in-conversation-with-catherine-johnson-and-patrice-lawrence\">https:\/\/www.sevenstories.org.uk\/whats-on\/events\/123370\/in-conversation-with-catherine-johnson-and-patrice-lawrence<\/a><\/p>\n<p>What an amazing line up! I hope to see you at some of our Freedom City events this autumn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Freedom City 2017 is a partnership between Newcastle University, Northern Roots and NewcastleGateshead Initiative.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2017 marks 50 years since Newcastle University awarded Dr Martin Luther King Jr. an honorary doctorate, the only British university to do so during his lifetime. Newcastle is commemorating this throughout the autumn in a city-wide festival, Freedom City 2017. This posts looks forward to the joint events that Newcastle University and Seven Stories: The &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/looking-forward-to-freedom-city-2017\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Looking forward to Freedom City 2017&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6222,"featured_media":435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[6,35,44,42,4,14,7,17],"class_list":["post-433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-events","tag-festivals","tag-freedom-city-2017","tag-honorary-degree","tag-partnership","tag-public-engagement","tag-research","tag-seven-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":849,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433\/revisions\/849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}