Grafton Community Read focuses on diversity, equality and inclusion
The following was submitted by the Friends of the Grafton Public Library.
Events over the last few weeks have alarmed, saddened, and deeply affected many people. Though social injustices in this country are not new, in the time of COVID-19, we are all facing many challenges all at once, which can feel overwhelming. Despite all of that, it is encouraging to see peaceful protests happening here and around the world and that people are seeking to educate themselves on the issues, which include institutional racism and police violence.
The Friends of the Grafton Public Library would like to help. We are hosting a Community Read: “Diversity, Equality and Inclusion”. We invite the public to read something on the topic, and then come together on Zoom (see link below) Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 7:30pm, to discuss these important issues through the lens of the book or books participants have chosen to read.
The discussion will be facilitated by Ken Wagner. He was one of the founding members of the New England Region’s Antiracism/Anti-oppression/Multicultural Transformation team called GRACE.
He has also served for the last nine years on the Executive Steering Committee of the Allies for Racial Equity and just completed a two year term as president of that organization. He is currently active in the Montachusetts Martin Luther King Coalition. Ken frequently speaks at church and community events across the country with a focus on the examination of race and the impact of white supremacy on our lives.
Below are some reading suggestions for all ages. Read any or all. Don’t see anything on the list you are interested in reading? Don’t let that stop you! Pick out your own title and come to the discussion. Need help finding something of interest? Contact the Grafton Public Library’s staff for help (508-839-4649 or info@graftonlibrary.org).
Community Read Book List:
A is for Activist, by Innosanto Nagara.
(This board book for kids is available as an Overdrive eBook cwmars.overdrive.com and a Hoopla eBook hoopladigital.com).
All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds.
(This young adult novel is available as an Overdrive eAudio and eBook cwmars.overdrive.com).
Black Boy White School, by Brian F. Walker.
(This young adult novel is available as on Hoopla as an eBook hoopladigital.com).
The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, and Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and R. Gregory Christie.
(This picture book is available as an Overdrive eBook cwmars.overdrive.com and a Hoopla eBook hoopladigital.com).
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.
(This middle school memoir in verse is available as an Overdrive eAudio and eBook cwmars.overdrive.com).
Dear Martin, by Nic Stone.
(This young adult novel is available as an Overdrive eAudio and eBook cwmars.overdrive.com).
I’m Not Dying with You Tonight, by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones.
(This young adult novel is available as on Hoopla as an eBook hoopladigital.com).
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World and Become a Good Ancestor, by Layla F. Saad.
(This adult non-fiction book is available for simultaneous use, as an Overdrive eBook through July 12, 2020. cwmars.overdrive.com It is also available on Hoopla as an eAudio and eBook hoopladigital.com).
Midnight Without a Moon, by Linda Williams Jackson.
(This young adult novel is available as on Hoopla as an eBook hoopladigital.com).
My Hair is a Garden, by Cozbi A. Cabrera.
(This picture book is available as a Hoopla eBook hoopladigital.com).
The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas.
(This young adult novel is available for simultaneous use, as an Overdrive eBook and eAudiobook through July 19, 2020 cwmars.overdrive.com).
March by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin.
(This non-fiction graphic novel for ages 8 and up, is available as an Overdrive eBook cwmars.overdrive.com and as an eBook on Hoopla hoopladigital.com).
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander.
(This adult non-fiction book is available for simultaneous use, as an Overdrive audiobook through July 15, 2020 cwmars.overdrive.com and as an eBook on Hoopla hoopladigital.com).
Not My Idea: a Book About Whiteness, by Anastasia Higginbotham.
(This picture book is available as a Hoopla eBook hoopladigital.com).
The Revisioners: a novel, by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton.
(This adult novel is available as a Hoopla eBook and eAudio hoopladigital.com and as an Overdrive eBook cwmars.overdrive.com).
Ruby Bridges: a Brave Child Who Made History, by Jeri Cipriano.
(This picture book is available as a Hoopla eBook hoopladigital.com).
So You Want to Talk about Race, by Ijeoma Oluo.
(This adult non-fiction book is available for simultaneous use, as an Overdrive eAudio from June 29 through July 26, 2020 cwmars.overdrive.com).
Stamped From the Beginning: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi.
(This adult non-fiction book is available as an Overdrive eAudio and eBook cwmars.overdrive.com).
Stamped : Racism, Antiracism, and You, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.
(This young adult non-fiction book is available as an Overdrive eAudio and eBook cwmars.overdrive.com).
Stella By Starlight, by Sharon M. Draper.
(This middle school novel is available as an Overdrive eAudio and eBook minuteman.overdrive.com).
This Book Is Anti-racist, by Tiffany Jewell and Aurélia Durand.
(This young adult non-fiction is available as on Hoopla as an eBook hoopladigital.com).
The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis.
(This middle school novel is available as an Overdrive eAudio and eBook minuteman.overdrive.com).
White Fragility : Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin J. DiAngelo.
(This adult non-fiction is available as an Overdrive eAudio and eBook cwmars.overdrive.com).
These books are available from the library, in various formats on two digital platforms: Overdrive (cwmars.overdrive.com) and Hoopla (hoopladigital.com). The Hoopla eAudiobooks and ebooks are available to as many people as would like to check them out. Overdrive items behave more like paper books, most of the time. Usually if all the copies are checked out, you have to wait for a copy to be available. However, as noted above, some formats are available for simultaneous use for a limited time. Other formats may exist in the Overdrive catalog (either the C/W Mars catalog or the partner libraries’ catalogs), but a person may need to place the item on hold. These platforms require you to have a library card to check them out. If you need help, please contact the Grafton Public Library at info@graftonlibrary.org or 508-839-4649.
The Friends of the Grafton Public Library and the Grafton Public Library hope to bring people together in calm, respectful conversations that look at the facts of the situation, try to make sense out of them, and hopefully bridge ideological divides.
Please join us!
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Meeting ID: 871 1023 9578
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