Program Type:
Author/WritingProgram Description
Program Details
Join us for a conversation with Louisa Jaggar, author of Sprouting Wings: The True Story of James Herman Banning, the First African American Pilot to Fly Across the United States, about Black aviators and Banning's experiences in Ames.
Jaggar will share stories she uncovered in her research on Banning's time as an electrical engineering student at Iowa State College and as an early aviator. Learn where he and fellow African Americans lived, how his community helped him build a plane, and more.
The conversation will also feature actor Kevin Mambo, who will perform in a Juneteenth staging of The Greatest Story Never Told, about the life of Banning. Mambo has appeared on Broadway and won two Daytime Emmy’s for his role on Guiding Light.
Presented in partnership with Ames Public Library and the NAACP.
Ames Public Library connects you to the world of ideas through diverse and inclusive resources and programs. We welcome proposals via our website for programs at www.amespubliclibrary.org/programproposal and exhibits at https://www.amespubliclibrary.org/exhibit-proposal.