On June 17, 2020, the Cambridge Public Library Foundation hosted bestselling authors Erik Larson and Alan Furst for a virtual event in front of a limited audience. Now, we are pleased to share the video of their lively and fascinating conversation for our entire community.

Erik Larson is the author of six national bestsellers: The Splendid and the Vile, Dead Wake, In the Garden of Beasts, Thunderstruck, The Devil in the White City, and Isaac’s Storm, which have collectively sold more than 9 million copies.

Alan Furst is widely recognized as the master of the historical spy novel. He is the author of Under Occupation, A Hero of France, Midnight in Europe, Mission to Paris, and many other bestsellers.

Please click the image below to watch A Conversation with Erik Larson and Alan Furst.

As we celebrate Juneteenth this year, we are reminded that our work is not done. The events of the past several months have exposed glaring inequities in our society. COVID-19 is killing disproportionately more Black and Brown people, Black Americans are being murdered in broad daylight and unemployment is projected to be in the double digits for a very long time.
Racism is baked into American culture. We have all known this, and yet our actions to combat it have not been enough. The Cambridge Public Library Foundation stands for inclusion, tolerance, social justice and economic opportunity for all people. We stand with the Black Lives Matter movement and we are proud to support a library system that opens its doors to everyone and provides resources regardless of race, gender, age, physical ability or economic means with the finest professional staff in the country. We are steadfast in supporting the Library’s phased reopening to ensure that everyone feels safe and welcome to the Library’s free and high-quality services without question.
W.E.B. Du Bois famously named “the problem of the color line” the major issue of the 20th century. He couldn’t foresee racism infecting the next century as well, but the Library Foundation has long championed the battle against this social ill as one of our primary purposes. To that end, we are committed to sponsoring Library programs such as Our Path Forward to ask how our City can continue to engage in that struggle and dialogue. The Cambridge Public Library Foundation commits itself to the continuation and elevation of the fight to root out racism and invites all sectors of the public to join us in this effort.

Shippen Page
Board President, Cambridge Public Library Foundation
June 19, 2020