Despite prejudice and racial discrimination, roughly 180,000 Black men served during the Civil War in the U.S. Army and Navy, often in segregated units, and nearly 40,000 died over the course of the war. Military historian and retired diplomat LARRY KERR discusses the roles that Black servicemen played in the Civil War, the challenges they faced, and what they accomplished for their nation.

LARRY KERR is a retired career member of the US Senior Foreign Service. His final posting was a secondment to the faculty of the National Defense University where he lectured in National Security Policy and the History of the Great Empires. Following retirement from the State Department, he has lectured at the University of the Americas in Puebla Mexico and the Inter-American Defense College in Washington DC. Earlier, he spent a decade as an Army infantry officer where his assignments included duty in the Dominican Republic and Vietnam as an Airborne Infantry and Special Forces troop leader.

COMING UP - FINAL PROGRAM!

April 24. 2 - 3:30 p.m. After the Blast: Mt. St. Helens 40 Years Later.Presented by author and biologist Eric Wagner. On May 18, 1980, the world watched in awe as Mount St. Helens erupted, killing 57 people and causing hundreds of square miles of destruction. Everyone thought it would take ages for life to return to the mountain, but scientists who visited soon after were stunned to find plants sprouting up through the ash and animals skittering around downed trees. Eric Wagner takes us on a journey through the blast zone, now known as the greatest natural experiment in Pacific Northwest history.

Library U is sponsored by the Bainbridge Public Library with funding support from the Bainbridge Island Friends of the Library and a generous donation in memory of Louise Brody Weissman. Library U's Spring 2022 Humanities Speaker Series is made possible through funding and support from Humanities Washington, a statewide nonprofit whose mission is to spark conversation and critical thinking in communities across our state.

Kathleen Thorne
Martha Bayley
Cindy Harrison
Ki Kilcher
Co-Coordinators
LIBRARY U, A PROGRAM OF THE BAINBRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Email: BainbridgeLibraryU@gmail.com