June 2026 Newsletter

Message from the Director

For most of human history, people could not choose their own government, their own religion, their own profession, and their own spouse. The Revolutionary generation created a system of government that allowed for change through amendments as we struggled to achieve a more perfect union. We weren’t perfect then; we aren’t perfect now, but at least we have the freedom to keep trying.

In June, we celebrate Juneteenth and the official end of slavery in the United States with Dr. Leslie Wilson of Montclair State University, Juneteenth & the Continuing Promise of American Freedom on Sunday, June 15, 2 pm- 3:30 pm

Speaking of more perfect unions, what is more appropriate to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness than the freedom to love? In the ruling regarding Loving v. Virginia on June 12, 1967, the United States Supreme Court held that laws banning interracial marriage violate the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This set the precedent for the the Supreme Court ruling on June 26, 2015 in Obergefell v. Hodges which recognized the fundamental rights of same sex couples to marry. Join us Sunday, June 21, 2pm to 3pm for a Rev250 program presented by the Museum of the American Revolution with Revolutionizing Gender Norms in the 18 Century.

Finally, the library is sharing the love of reading and learning with our annual Summer Reading Program, which kicks off on June 16 for children through 5th grade, 5 p.m.–7 p.m. Teens in grades 6-12 kickoff is June 17 from 7 p.m.- 9 p.m. Adults have their own summer reading program; participate and you too can have a custom WOPL bag designed by WOPL staff with love.