EveryLibrary’s Post

Check out this new piece in Forbes by Marybeth Gasman! 🔥 "According to the authors in the book, Thompson is dedicated to truth-telling, #justice, and #equity, and his life can be inspiring to others as they work to make meaningful change in society." 🔗

🌟 Reflecting on My Journey from Racism to Anti-Racism 🌟 At the advice of several people I trust, I am posting this ahead of Juneteenth, so I don't bring the whole vibe down that day. In this video, "My Racist Burn Book: My Ongoing Journey from Racism to Anti-Racism," I share my personal experiences and insights on confronting my own racism and working towards a more equitable society. From growing up in a racially-charged environment to challenging my own biases and beliefs, my journey has been one of self-discovery and growth. I've learned that dismantling systems of oppression requires active engagement and continuous learning. As we commemorate Juneteenth and celebrate freedom and liberation for our black community, let's also acknowledge the extensive amount of work that still needs to be done to achieve equity and justice. I invite you to watch this 15 minute (long) video and join me in the ongoing fight against racism. Trigger warning – it isn't pretty. Disclaimer: I am not skilled at creating video content. And even worse at the music. #Juneteenth #AntiRacism #Equality # #Inclusion #Diversity #Equity #Justice #BlackLivesMatter https://lnkd.in/eaYaMVFE

Read an excerpt of In Search of Our Mother's Garden's by Alice Walker today. Some condensed quotes that stand out are as follows: "What is always needed in the appreciation of art, or life, is the larger perspective. Connections made, or at least attempted, where none existed before, the straining to encompass in one’s glance at the varied world the common thread, the unifying theme through immense diversity, a fearlessness of growth, of search, of looking, that enlarges the private and the public world. And yet, in our particular society, it is the narrowed and narrowing view of life that often wins". "I write not only what I want to read—understanding fully and indelibly that if I don’t do it no one else is so vitally interested, or capable of doing it to my satisfaction—I write all the things I should have been able to read". "Those writers—most of whom, not surprisingly, are women—who understood that their experience as ordinary human beings was also valuable, are in danger of being misrepresented, distorted, or lost". "It is, in the end, the saving of lives that we writers are about. Whether we are 'minority' writers or 'majority'. It is simply in our power to do this. We do it because we care. We care because we know this: the life we save is our own". -Alice Walker Words written in 1976 still ring true today. Watch the documentary inspired by the anthology here: https://lnkd.in/gt2xNWH6 #HappyWomensHistoryMonth #BlackWomenWriters #BlackWomenArtists #BlackArtMatters #BlackLiteratureMatters #BlackFeministTradition

An important read.

Read these along with a few others.

📚 It’s #BannedBooksWeek, and we need to be louder than ever about the attack on our freedom to read and think critically. As a first-generation child of immigrants, I can’t imagine who I’d be without the books I read growing up—and the ones that continue to shape me as an adult. These books didn’t just entertain; they were lifelines. They gave me the tools to question, to resist, to envision a world where justice is possible. Let’s be clear: book bans are about control, censorship, and erasing voices that don’t fit into a narrow worldview. It’s a direct attack on our communities—especially BIPOC, queer, and marginalized voices. Our stories, our truths, and our histories are being silenced. We can’t allow that to happen. Stand up for the freedom to read, to tell our stories, and to fight for a more just and equitable world. #FreedomToRead #BannedBooks #ProtectOurStories #ResistCensorship #BooksBuildMovements

In honor of #BannedBooksWeek, I am sharing a few books important to my intellectual, educational, and personal development that have consistently made the "Most Frequently Challenged Books" throughout my lifetime or spiked the attention of recent banning efforts. The second book I want to share is "Stamped from the Beginning" by Ibram X. Kendi (2016). After winning the National Book Award in the non-fiction category shortly after a Presidential season that seemed to have taken pundits, pollsters, and even most political scientists by surprise, Kendi's deeply researched and nuanced argument became a staple for my undergraduate course in Political Ideologies. This is a class where participants are tasked with unpacking the shifts in the iterations of traditional political ideologies - anarchism (Occupy Wall Street Anarchism), liberalism (neoliberalism), and conservatism (neoconservatism) - and alternative political ideologies - abolitionism, socialism, fascism, and feminism using Kendi's exploration of another set of ideologies that focus on the role of race in U.S. history (white supremacy, segregationalism, assimilationism, and anti-racism). Kendi's clear writing allows us to understand how ideologies operate and how to combat their entrenchment by returning to historical facts to challenge false equivocation. It makes this book powerful (and thus "dangerous"). Furthermore, repackaging the work to accommodate different levels of learning, as indicated in Kendi's reflection below, has made both the initial text and subsequent projects (children's lit, YA lit, film) a target for bans at an alarming rate. As such, these facts and reflections make "Stamped from the Beginning" an essential for the #LetFreedomRead campaign.

Check out this new piece co-authored by the Health Law and Policy Program's Co-Director Sonia Suter!

Activism is for the people - therefore, it must not exclude any of the people. This line of thinking is what brought us to create our JEDI Book Club. This Mar. 19, we'll be exploring a poignant book exploring disability, ableism, and the realities of being born in a different body - "Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body" by Rebekah Taussig! 🌙 Learn more or RSVP at https://lnkd.in/gr9-nUG9 📚