Open Book / Open Mind, Melissa Ludtke, “Locker Room Talk”

NJCH is a proud sponsor of Open Book / Open Mind, a flagship series of literary events organized by Montclair Public Library whereby top authors discuss their new books and current events in front of a live audience. Next in this series is a discussion with pioneering sports journalist Melissa Ludtke on her book Locker Room Talk: A Woman’s Struggle to Get Inside.

The former journalist with Sports Illustrated, ABC Sports, Time, and Nieman Reports will discuss the book with former Sports Illustrated and USA Today sports journalist Kelly Whiteside, now professor at Montclair State University.

The program is co-presented by NJCH grantee the Yogi Berra Museum.

Locker Room Talk: A Woman’s Struggle to Get Inside chronicles Ludtke’s groundbreaking 1978 federal legal case in which the judge ordered baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn to provide equal access for women so they could work alongside their male peers in Major League Baseball locker rooms. With her ruling in Ludtke v. Kuhn, Judge Constance Baker Motley opened doors that several generations of young women have walked through in filling jobs in sports media that previously were only held by men. Even with her breakthrough case, many key issues revolving around gender and equity remain in play 46 years later.

Registration

The event is free but registration is required. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. After the discussion, there will be a Q&A period and a book signing and sale with Watchung Booksellers. The program is co-presented by the Yogi Berra Museum. Register at https://montclairlibrary.libnet.info/event/11000254.