Historian To Discuss Haiti's Earthquake at Greenbelt Library

Author and historian Carroll R. Gibbs has made appearances on TV, radio—and perhaps most important to locals—in Greenbelt, MD.

On Tuesday at 7 p.m., he'll give an audio-visual lecture, "Haiti: From Independence to Earthquake," in the . Gibbs plans to discuss how Haiti began, its complex relationship with the U.S., and how it is coping with one of the greatest natural disasters in history.

Greenbelt Library Branch Manager Ellen Utley said she is delighted that Gibbs finds Greenbelt a place that he likes to have his lecture series. Sometimes she turns on her TV, and "there he is" out of the clear blue talking about African American history, as stations go to him for comment, she said.

According to Utley, Gibbs' lectures are usually the kind you would hear at a college or at the Smithsonian. Adults attend them, but they are not so heavy that teenagers on a junior high or high school level can't understand them, she said.

She said Gibbs makes yearly visits to the library to speak. This year, she encouraged him to come even more regularly, and he's been coming every month since April.

His lectures usually end around 8:30 p.m., Utley said, and some attendees stay around afterward to ask questions.