Inclusive Reading Club to tackle racism, black dignity in America

Everyone in the University community is invited to the Inclusive Reading Club (IRC), a monthly book club that tackles tough topics like race, gender, social justice and inclusivity. The upcoming monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m. on Zoom. Register for the event here.

So what’s next for the IRC? This month, there will be a discussion of “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” by Austin Channing Brown. Some very special guest facilitators for the club will be Shania Riviere ’23, administration of justice major, and Meghan DeCarvalho, director of counseling services.

Channing Brown’s memoir walks through her life as a Black woman in predominantly white spaces and includes her educational experiences and encounters in the Christian faith. She shares vulnerably and encourages readers, particularly in her discussion guide, to self-reflect on their identities. Channing Brown also offers strategies to people of color on coping with microaggressions and blatant racism, and to white people on identifying and limiting their fragility. Brown hopes that her book stirs people to action and helps them to decide that doing nothing is no longer an option.

The readings for “I’m Still Here,” chapters 1-4, are posted on the library’s website under Course Reserves. Riviere and DeCarvalho have posted a discussion guide along with questions on the padlet, the IRC’s online conversation board, so anyone who wants to can take a look at those prior to the event. The discussion guide also offers previews of supplemental videos of how people with varying racial identities talk about race in constructive ways.

To register for the IRC on Feb. 18, please go to McKillop Library’s event page here.

Featured photo by Getty Images/DisobeyArt