As a follow up to the Ann Petry panel discussion that took place on February 11, Laurie Wolfley, a member of Waterford RISE, and a member of the English faculty at UConn, Avery Point, will be leading a discussion of Ms. Petry's book The Street originally published in 1946. The first novel by an African-American woman to sell more than a million copies, its haunting tale still resonates today.  Registration is suggested by clicking here. 

The Street tells the poignant, often heartbreaking story of Lutie Johnson, a young black woman, and her spirited struggle to raise her son amid the violence, poverty, and racial dissonance of Harlem in the late 1940s. Lutie is confronted by racism, sexism, and classism on a daily basis in her pursuit of the American dream for herself and her son, Bub. Lutie fully subscribes to the belief that if she follows the adages of Benjamin Franklin by working hard and saving wisely, she will be able to achieve the dream of being financially independent.