News And Events

Join Our Next Happy Hour:
Still the Promised Land: 
Dr. Natwar Gandhi & Panna Naik
Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Join us for our sixth ESU Happy Hour on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 3:00 pm Central Time. Happy Hours are an ongoing series of online programs for ESU members and guests. The programs offer a wide variety of topics that are fun, engaging and informative.

They are designed so ESU members and guests can learn and interact with our outstanding speakers. Happy Hour programs bring to you guest speakers live and free of charge. You can register for this Happy Hour program at the link below.

Learn more and register for this free Happy Hour here.

 

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John Lewis Shares Final Message to
Young Americans in New York Times Op-ed

The late Rep. John Lewis published a posthumous op-ed in the New York Times written shortly before his death requesting it be published on the day of his funeral. The civil rights icon delivered a final message to young Americans. It is a powerful message for everyone to read and reflect. Here is the entire text of Rep. Lewis' message:

While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

 

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Join Our ESU Happy Hour:
Shakespeare, Scandals & Scoundrels
Guest Speaker: Acclaimed Author, Andrea Mays

ESU Members and Friends of ESU are cordially invited to our next ESU Happy Hour on Wednesday, September 2, 2020 at 3:00 pm Central Time. Happy Hour programs are live, online and free. You can register for this Happy Hour program at the link below. Our guest speaker is the acclaimed author, Andrea Mays.

Andrea is the author of "The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folger's Obsessive Hunt for Shakespeare's First Folio. Her extensive research for that award-winning book forms the basis of her Happy Hour topic that chronicles the story of Henry Folger's obsessive pursuit to acquire every copy of Shakespeare's First Folio.

 

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Join Us for ESU Happy Hour
Guest Speaker: Ron Whitehead, Outlaw Poet
Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Don't miss our  ESU Happy Hour on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 3:00 pm Central Time. Happy Hour programs are live, online and free. You can register for this Happy Hour program at the link below. Our guest speaker is Ron Whitehead.

Ron Whitehead, Outlaw Poet, will present "Write ON! a feast for your mind and heart. Ron has lived the extraordinary life of a writer, performer, traveler, and activist through his poetic world of unparalleled vision.

 

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Join Our Next Happy Hour:
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know:
The Brontë Sisters

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Join us for our second ESU Happy Hour on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 3:00 pm Central Time. Happy Hour programs are free and you can register for this Happy Hour program at the link below. Our guest speaker is Marie Kervin.

Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855)  and her sisters Emily Brontë (1818-1848) and Anne Brontë (1820-1849) have charmed, inspired, and even shocked readers from the Victorian age to the present.  Raised in Haworth, Yorkshire, the three sisters produced such classics as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.  Influenced by British Romantic poets like Wordsworth, Scott, and Byron, the Brontës produced a cast of unforgettable characters such as the devoted governess, Jane Eyre, and the lovers, Heathcliff, Cathy, and Hareton. 

In her Happy Hour session, Marie Kervin will scrutinize the pearl of received wisdom that sisters Charlotte, Anne, & Emily were mild, decorous examples of Victorian womanhood. This lecture will explore the themes of domestic violence, opium addiction, extramarital affairs, alcoholism, necrophilia, sadism and coercive control apparent in the sisters' work. We will be debunking the myth.

 

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The English-Speaking Union

Kansas City Branch

Kansas City Branch Landmark Photo