Library Foundation Of Sarasota Luncheon To Feature Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.

SARASOTA, FL — The Library Foundation of Sarasota County celebrates its 10th anniversary with its annual sellout event, the Love Our Libraries Author Luncheon.

This year’s event returns in person Feb. 3 at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium and will celebrate all the important ways Sarasota's local library system supports our community, according to a news release from the foundation.

The event will feature Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, author, cultural critic and journalist Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. As host of the popular PBS series “Finding Your Roots,” Gates has helped to expand America’s sense of itself, stimulating a national conversation about identity with humor, wisdom and compassion, the foundation said.

Gates is the Alphonse Fletcher University professor and director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. In addition to being an award-winning filmmaker and journalist, he has authored or co-authored 25 books and created 23 documentary films.

In his most recent book, “The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song,” Gates presents a powerful new history of the Black church in America, taking readers on a 400-year journey where the church has been the Black community’s abiding rock and fortress.

Tickets to the Feb. 3 luncheon start at $150. Purchase tickets at 941-404-3139 or at www.sarasotalibraryfoundation.org.