Princeton scholar to give keynote at UMass Baldwin celebration

AMHERST — Noted scholar Eddie Glaude Jr. of Princeton University will deliver the keynote talk at a dinner celebrating the centennial of the birth of writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin at the University of Massachusetts on Thursday.

The event in the Campus Center Auditorium will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner featuring music by UMass Amherst alumnus Mtali Banda. The talk and question-and-answer session will feature Glaude, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton, beginning at 6 p.m.

The dinner and talk are free and open to the public. Those interested in attending are strongly encouraged to register online at https://www.umass.edu/diversity/baldwin-centennial.

Glaude, the author of the New York Times bestseller “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own,” will explore Baldwin’s vision and the promise of democracy. “Begin Again” takes an exhaustive look at Black communities and the difficulties of race in the United States.

Glaude frequently appears in the media, as a columnist for TIME Magazine and as an MSNBC contributor on programs like “Morning Joe” and “Deadline Whitehouse” with Nicolle Wallace. He also regularly appears on “Meet the Press” on Sundays.

The event is presented by the Office of Equity and Inclusion at UMass Amherst and is part of the university’s Community, Democracy and Dialogue initiative.

Coolidge Museum discussion to break down Immigration Act of 1924

NORTHAMPTON — The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum will host a panel discussion “How Has The Immigration Act of 1924 Changed America?” on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 6:30 p.m., in the museum at Forbes Library or livestream on You Tube. The program will be recorded.

One hundred years ago, President Calvin Coolidge signed what was arguably the most controversial and consequential bill of his administration: The Immigration Act of 1924. The act limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to 2% of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia, but did not establish quotas of any kind for residents of the Western Hemisphere.

The national origin quota system would remain in effect until “The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965” overhauled America’s immigration policies.

How did the law change America over the course of the last 100 years? Did the law work as its authors intended? Even though the quota system has been replaced, to what extent is the law’s restrictionist philosophy continuing to impact policy and national sentiment towards immigrants?

To help answer these questions, panelists will explore the history of immigration in America over the last 100 years with immigration experts Rebecca Hamlin, UMass professor of legal studies and political science who focuses her research on law and immigration politics, and migrant categorization and the concept of a refugee, and Razvan “Raz” Sibii, a senior lecturer in journalism at UMassw who researches and writes about issues of language, identity construction, immigration and incarceration.

The discussion will be moderated by Bill Scher, vice president of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum Standing Committee. Video of the event will be made available on the Forbes Library YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/live/jkST4Z6Q–k

Hadley to hold special TM forum

HADLEY — The town of Hadley will hold a special Town Meeting public forum on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Senior Center or by Zoom.