Niagara Falls Public Library to present talk from 'Blacks in Niagara Falls' author

To celebrate Black History Month, the Niagara Falls Public Library’s local history department has invited Michael Boston, professor of African & African-American studies at SUNY Brockport, to give a talk about his 2021 book, “Blacks in Niagara Falls.”

A press release shared, “While researching his book, Boston recorded over 60 interviews.”

“During his talk, Boston will share some of the major themes that the interviewees shared with him about their lives in Niagara Falls. This covers topics such as migration, jobs, housing, churches, the Niagara Community Center, recreation, and discrimination. During the event, materials from the local history department’s collections will also be available for attendees to view outside of the archives.”

Boston’s talk will take place at the main branch (1425 Main St.), from 1-2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10. This talk and all previous events in the “Speakers Series” have been sponsored by the Friends of the Niagara Falls Public Library.

Since September, the local history department has held the monthly series to help commemorate and exhibit the rich history of Niagara Falls.

In January, it invited Mary Helen Miskuly, registrar at the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University, to present “Conserving Niagara.” Miskuly spoke about two recently conserved paintings on view through March 31 at the CAM.

To register for the event, email [email protected] or call the local history department at 716-286-4899 with a name, email and phone number. Find more information about upcoming events from the local history department on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LocalHistoryNFPL/.

The Niagara Falls Public Library is the central library of the NIOGA Library System, serving all member libraries in Niagara, Orleans and Genesee counties.