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06/24/2021 12:00 AMWe are often asked to be the change we want to see in the world ...but we can't change what we can't see. As part of our Awakening to Change series, the Blackstone Library, in conjunction with the Branford Community Foundation, is offering a social justice book club. Each month we'll read a book selected to help us develop a shared understanding of the complex issues surrounding racism. Over the course of several in-depth discussions, we aim to begin understanding the world in a new way.
The second book in the series, I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown, is set to be discussed over three Thursday Zoom sessions beginning July 1. The author's first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, she writes, "I had to learn what it means to love blackness," a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America's racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion.
In a time when nearly every institution (schools, churches, universities, businesses) claims to value diversity in its mission statement, Austin writes in breathtaking detail about her journey to self-worth andthe pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice. Her stories bear witness to the complexity of America's social fabric—from Black Cleveland neighborhoods to private schools in the middle-class suburbs, from prison walls to the boardrooms at majority-white organizations.
The discussion will take place on three Thursdays in July at 7 p.m. via Zoom. We'll discuss the book in sections to allow for more in depth and essential conversations. July 1, Part I (Pages 11 - 80); July 8, Part II (Pages 81 - 127) and July 15, Part III (Pages 128 - 182). Copies of the book are available at the James Blackstone Memorial Library for you to borrow. Please call (203) 488.1441 ext. 318 or email programs@blackstonelibrary.org.
If you would like to purchase a personal copy for your own social justice library, People Get Ready Books in New Haven will donate 15% of every purchase to the Blackstone Library. Simply visit their website at peoplegetreadybooks.com to order, use promo code
AWAKENING, and you will support both the library and a women and black owned local business. The cost of the book is $25.00 plus $3.50 shipping. Books can also be picked up at the store at 119 Whalley Ave, New Haven; for more store information (203) 954-6678.
Event Brite registration is required to receive the link to the Zoom program; or register at the library website at blackstonelibrary.org.