Top 10 Reasons to See Bob Herbert

We are hosting Bob Herbert, the award winning, longtime New York Times columnist, for the national launch of his new book, Losing Our Way: An Intimate Portrait of a Troubled America. I know that sounds like a very serious title, but this is going to be an exciting event and the book features our local education justice work! So why should you come next Thursday (October 9^th) at 5:30PM to Carnegie Mellon? Here are the top ten reasons you don’t want to miss this event:

1.  You will be inspired. Bob is a terrific writer and speaker. With this book, he takes us across the U.S. to look at the consequences of the crippling Great Recession, austerity, and de-investment in the public good, profiling ordinary Americans who are trying to rebuild their lives and our country. Our story of Pittsburgh’s own grassroots parent movement and our efforts to save public education in Pennsylvania from devastating state budget cuts is the hope-filled highpoint of the book. You will be re-inspired by what we have accomplished working together. And now others around the country will be looking to Pittsburgh as a model for citizen action.

2.  Celebrate our victories. This is our time to shine a little in the national spotlight! Education justice work is a long haul; even narrowly defined goals such as restoring state budget cuts takes years of work, with many highs and lows along the way. It’s important to stop and recognize what we have achieved together. And this event is yet another achievement: we are hosting the national launch of this book (yes, Bob will be celebrating with us here in Pittsburgh before he even launches the book back home in New York City)!

3.  Get a signed copy of the book. Our friends at Mystery Lovers Bookshop will be on hand selling books hot off the press and Bob will stay after the Q&A to sign copies.

4.  Be a part of a community wide event. We have 15 co-sponsors from across the region working on this event, from universities and academic groups to faith-based organizations and labor and community organizations. That doesn’t happen every day in Pittsburgh.

• Action United
• American Federation of Teachers
• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
• Carnegie Mellon University:
  • Center for Arts in Society
  • Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies and the Economy (CAUSE)
  • English Department
  • History Department
• Great Public Schools Pittsburgh
• OnePittsburgh
• Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network
• Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee
• Pittsburgh Collaborative for Working Class Studies
• Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers
• Point Park University School of Communication
• University of Pittsburgh English Department

5.  Hear the Dilworth drummers. These fantastic students from Pittsburgh Dilworth K-5 raise the roof with their music and enthusiasm when they perform. You have enjoyed them at some of our previous events: don’t miss this chance to hear them again at 5PM when the doors open. We will also have children’s activities sponsored by the fabulous librarians of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh!

6.  See Tony Norman. Mr. Norman – a columnist, associate editor, and book editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – will be moderating the conversation with Bob Herbert, followed by a Q&A with the audience. Tony has long been one of my favorite columnists and it will be a treat to see him live on stage with Bob.

7.  Find out who is in the book. Hint: at least four Pittsburgh parents are named in the book. And there’s an entire chapter framed by the story Bob discovered at Pittsburgh Lincoln preK-5 when he visited that school. Find out what he has to say about yinzers!

8.  It’s free. With free parking. In Pittsburgh, that’s enough said.

9.  Our elected representatives will be there. From the school board to city council, the mayor’s office, and state legislators, many of our elected representatives have told us they are planning to attend. We want them to see a crowd and know that public education advocates are a force to be reckoned with. (No joke – this is really important.) We had 1,000 people out for the launch of Diane Ravitch’s book one year ago and they really took notice – make sure you come and help this event be a big success.

10.  Because Bob Herbert. Seriously, Bob Herbert people!