TCCL News & Events

In recognition of October as National Health Literacy Month, Tulsa City-County Library’s Ruth G. Hardman Adult Literacy Service is offering a free community health fair on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Zarrow Regional Library, 2224 W. 51st St.

Health literacy is the ability to read, understand and act on health information. Literacy skills are vital to a person’s health. In fact, literacy skills are a stronger predictor of a person’s health than age, income, employment status, educational level or race/ethnicity.

The community health fair will provide an opportunity for people to get information about a variety of health topics, take advantage of free health screenings, explore services available in the community and learn how to advocate for better health. Plus, attendees will learn how to communicate more clearly with doctors by asking questions.

Participating organizations include Hospice of Green Country, Life Senior Services, Metropolitan Urban League and OU-Tulsa Library.

At 2 p.m., the fair will feature a computer class titled “Online Health Information for Grownups.” The class will demonstrate how to find senior-friendly health and wellness information on the Internet.

The Tulsa Library Trust, George Kaiser Family Foundation and Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association Recycling Proceeds Fund are sponsoring the health fair. Call the literacy service at 596-7958 for more details.

Pearl Cleage, an award-winning playwright and author, will receive Tulsa City-County Library’s African-American Resource Center’s Sankofa Freedom Award, Feb. 13, 10:30 a.m., at Rudisill Regional Library, 1520 N. Hartford. This event is free and open to the public. Cleage shot to national prominence in 1994 with her play “Flyin’ West,” which was the most-produced new play in the country that year. She struck gold with her first book, “What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day,” released in 1997. After being selected as an Oprah Book Club pick, the debut author spent nine weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list.

She has also written “Seen It All and Done the Rest,” “Baby Brother’s Blues,” “We Speak Your Names,” “Babylon Sisters,” “Some Things I’d Never Thought I’d Do” and “I Wish I Had a Red Dress.” Many of her books are set in southwest Atlanta, where Cleage has lived since 1970. Through her optimism, she takes the reader on a journey balancing love, family and careers in an urban setting.

“Pearl Cleage, having grown up as the daughter of a church pastor who played a prominent role in the civil rights movement, gives voice to issues that plague our society. Her plays and writings address citizenship, patriotism, individual responsibility and healing while addressing poverty, domestic violence, addiction and political corruption,” explained Alicia Latimer, African-American Resource Center coordinator. “Still, Cleage reminds us of the importance of family, friendship and community. Her work is honest, intelligent and important.”

The Sankofa Freedom Award consists of a $5,000 cash prize and an engraved medallion. It is given annually in February during Black History Month to a nationally acclaimed individual who has dedicated his or her life to educating and improving the greater African-American community.

Sankofa is a word from the Akan language, which is spoken in southern Ghana. Literally translated, Sankofa means: “We must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to be who we are today.”

For more information about the Sankofa Freedom Award or the African-American Resource Center, call the Rudisill Regional Library, 596-7280.