Detroit Public Library Official Raises Concerns over Former Mayor's Vanity Publication

Kilpatrick's library book signing at issue. Commission member fears event will serve as endorsement.  (Detroit News, 10/8/2011)

Excerpt: A Detroit Public Library official is worried that a book signing at the system's main branch is being billed as an endorsement of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's "truth" about his rise and fall from power.

"I understand that the library rightfully encourages open and free speech, but some folks have expressed doubts about whether Kwame Kilpatrick's book contains the truth," Jonathon Kinloch, vice president of the city's library commission, said about an Oct. 19 event posted Friday on the organization's website.

Khary Kimani Turner, co-author of "Surrendered: The Rise, Fall and Revelation of Kwame Kilpatrick," is scheduled to speak in the library's Friends Auditorium on Woodward and sign books from 6-7:45 p.m. Kilpatrick, now a Texas resident, is to appear and answer questions via the Internet video connection service Skype.

The event is being billed by the library as an opportunity to "learn the truth" behind what Kilpatrick's book calls his rise, downfall and redemption. The language is similar to promotional material online about Kilpatrick's book.

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