BPL to Host Brothers and Bowties MLK Event January 18 at Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

What: Brothers and Bow Ties: A Vision Cast
When: Saturday January 18, 2020, 12:00–4:00 p.m.
Where: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 520 16th Street North
Details: Brothers and Bow Ties is a pilot initiative targeting at-risk young males aged 11 to 18 sponsored by the Birmingham Public Library and the City of Birmingham Mayor's Office Division of Youth Services. The event, open to 50 young males who each will receive bow ties with a personalized message of hope, is a partnership between two male mentoring organizations, Growing Kings and BPL Real MENtors Talk. Author and motivational speaker Timothy Alexander will serve as keynote speaker. Brothers and Bow Ties is free and lunch will be provided, but advanced registration is required through Eventbrite. (Registration is filled.) For more information or to donate bow ties, call BPL Outreach Librarian Candice Hardy at 205-226-3625.

As part of a citywide celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend, the Birmingham Public Library will host Brothers and Bow Ties: A Vision Cast on Saturday, January 18, 2020, from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m., at the historical Birmingham Civil Rights Institute downtown. Brothers and Bow Ties is a pilot initiative which targets at-risk young males between the ages of 11 and 18.

The benchmark for the event is to monitor/promote positive character, establish long-lasting relationships with positive adult male figures, and develop/cast visions for the future. The keynote speaker for this event is Birmingham native Timothy Alexander, an author and motivational speaker. Alexander is the author of Ever Faithful, Ever Loyal, a memoir about how he overcame a car accident that left him confined to a wheelchair at age 17.

Brothers and Bow Ties is sponsored by the Birmingham Public Library and Birmingham Mayor’s Office Division of Youth Services. A Birmingham-based male mentoring non-profit, Growing Kings, and BPL’s Real MENtors Talk, a new mentoring program launched by BPL  in the fall of 2019, are partnering on this event.

Brothers and Bow Ties is free but only 50 spots are available. Participants will receive donated bow ties with a personalized message of hope on the day of the event. Lunch will be provided. Advanced registration is required. Registration will open at midnight on Monday, December 30, 2019, and will end on Friday, January 17, 2020, at 4:00 pm. Register through Eventbrite.

Bow ties are very significant to a man’s wardrobe. According to Genni Threet, blogger for R. Hanauer, Fine Accessories for Men, “Bow ties represent pure uncaged creativity, a confident willingness to be different, and an uncompromising embrace of style in daily life. While it can be a daunting task to select shirts, pants, and jackets that best represent your personality, accessories are far easier and more attainable tool to express yourself. That’s where your favorite bow tie comes in.” 

As a non-profit organization, much of the library’s success depends on the generosity of others. BPL is asking males across the City of Birmingham to support this effort in two ways:

(1) Join us on Saturday, January 18, to welcome students to the event with smiles, high-fives, and words of encouragement

(2) Donate a bow tie with a personalized/handwritten message of hope to a student. BPL is asking that all bow tie donations be delivered to Outreach Librarian Candice Hardy at the Central location of the Birmingham Public Library.