The Maplewood Library Foundation invites you to
virtual Zoom conversation with Marc Morial, President and CEO of The National Urban League, and Rebecca Blumenstein, Maplewood resident and Deputy Managing Editor of the New York Times, to explore how our Library can play a role in fostering a more equitable Maplewood.
We’re moving closer to the planned reconstruction of the Maplewood Library to make it a library for the next century. This is not just a matter of bricks and mortar—building the library of our future demands that we also construct a vision of the library’s place in advancing Maplewood as a resilient, welcoming and equitable community. Bringing his decades of experience leading one of this country’s premier civil rights organizations and his years as mayor of New Orleans, Mr. Morial will help us explore what role the library can play in helping to reduce barriers to social and economic justice in our community.
Join us for what will be a thought-provoking and forward-looking conversation.
Marc Morial
Marc Morial has been described as one of the few national leaders to possess “street smarts”, and “boardroom savvy.” He is the current President and CEO of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization.
He served as the highly successful and popular Mayor of New Orleans as well as the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He previously was a Louisiana State Senator, and was a lawyer in New Orleans with an active, high profile practice.
He is a leading voice on the national stage in the battle for jobs, education, housing and voting rights equity.
A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, and the University of Pennsylvania, he has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential Black Americans by Ebony Magazine, one of the top 50 Non Profit Leaders by the Non Profit Times, one of the 100 Most Influential Black Lawyers in America and he has also been inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in Atlanta, GA.
Rebecca Blumenstein
Rebecca Blumenstein has been Deputy Managing Editor of The New York Times since February 2017, where she heads the digital report and focuses on making The Times an essential destination for business, economics and technology coverage. Prior to joining the NYT, Ms. Blumenstein served as Deputy Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal. She joined the WSJ in 1995 as a reporter in the Detroit bureau, and over the years served as the deputy chief of its New York Technology Group, managing editor of WSJ.com, China bureau chief, deputy managing editor and international editor, and Page One Editor. She began her journalism career at The Tampa Tribune, and then later moved to Gannett Newspapers and Newsday, where she covered breaking news and the New York State legislature.
Ms. Blumenstein received a 1993 New York Newswomen’s Award for best deadline writing for her coverage of the aftermath of the Long Island Railroad shootings. In 2003, she was part of a team that won the Gerald Loeb Award for deadline writing for coverage of WorldCom. She oversaw the China team that won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 2007 and was named to the Aspen Institute’s, Henry Crown Fellowship for 2009.
Ms. Blumenstein holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and social science from the University of Michigan, where she was editor in chief of the Michigan Daily. A native of Essexville, Michigan, Ms. Blumenstein is a long-time resident of Maplewood, NJ, where she lives with her husband, writer Alan Paul and three children.