Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series: Two Years and Still Going

Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series

The Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series is not necessarily about urban themes or urban people (although often this is the case,) but is named "urban" because the Wilson Library is an urban library and many of us live in urban locations. For clarity, the books we read are not urban literature or "street lit." Most of the books we choose are non-fiction, although we have read two novels: Ben Winter's Underground Airlines and Paul Beatty's The Sellout. We normally choose books that have to do with African American History and Social Justice Issues. Many of our sons, grandsons, nephews, and friends have fallen through the cracks of the education system or have had experiences with over-zealous police officers. Many of us have friends or family members who have had experiences in the criminal justice system. All of us, as citizens have a stake in the political atmosphere in our country.

The overriding reason we're in this book discussion group is because we love to read. In the past, most of us have gobbled up any book on the bestsellers lists, whether they had any bearing on our lives or not. (And to be honest, I still sneak in some bestselling fiction in between and am sure that the rest of the group does as well.) In addition to being book-lovers, most of us are seeking a way to make a meaningful contribution to our communities. Meeting every six weeks or so to discuss a thought-provoking book is the beginning of community building.

From Nov. 2015 to the present, The Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Group is still going strong.

Sometimes there's four of us. Sometimes there's thirteen of us.

The next book discussion will be Saturday, January 6, 2018 at noon. The book is They Can't Kill us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery

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Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision by Barbara Ransby, 2003

Nine of us met on Saturday March 16 th to discuss Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement by Barbara Ransby, published in 2003. Although born 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia, Ella Baker was predominantly reared in Littleton, North Carolina. Her Civil Rights and Human Rights career spanned over five decades, some of her work took place in New York and some took place in the South. Some of the groups she worked with are YNC L Young Negroes’ Cooperative League WEP Worker s’ Education Project NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People SCLC Southern Christian Leadership Conference M FDP Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party SCEF Southern Christian Education Fund SNCC Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee She established her place in these movements as a behind the scenes organizer and never sought leadership positions. Her philosophy abou...

New People by Danzy Senna

The Urban Life Expe rience Book Discussion Series continued on June 3 rd , with a discussion of New People by Danzy Senna. This 2017 novel features a young woman, Maria, who is engaged to Khalil, but becomes increasingly obsessed by a poet i n their community who is unambiguously Black. Maria and Khalil are both mixed-raced people and are being featured in a doc umentary about multi-raced Black people who are exceptionally light complexioned and consider themselves upwardly mobile. Maria was adopted by a Black woman named Gloria who didn’t realize that her baby was never going to appear Black. Maria is writing her dissertation on the musicality of the Jim Jones cult and Khalil is starting a dot-com company wit...

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

Thirteen of us met on Saturday, Nov. 16 th to discuss Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby (2021.) The main characters are Ike and Buddy Lee. One Black and one white, fathers of sons who were married to each other. Both men hated that their sons were gay and pretty much wanted nothing to do with anyone from a different race. Yet, when their sons are murdered, the two men come together to find out who killed their sons and to seek vengeance. Shelara started us out, saying, “The biggest takeaway from the book for me was how cinematic it was: The way he weaves the story and layers the story and like illustrates the pictures and the way he writes the dialogue,. To me I read it like a movie. I imagine the characters; I know the actors I want to play the characters. I envision Bing Rhames as Ike and of course Sam Eliot as Buddy Lee. Barbara M. added, “I enjoyed the characters. I’m a mystery junkie. The way they introduced the characters was very challenging for me.” Kay said, “...

Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series

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