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...

The Movement Made Us: A Father, A Son, and the Legacy of a Freedom Ride by David J. Dennis Jr. in collaboration with David J. Dennis Sr.

Book Discussion of The Movement Made Us by David Dennis Jr. and David Dennis Sr. Discussion date: December 30, 2023 Nine of us met for our last book discussion of 2023 on the last Saturday of December. The book, The Movement Made Us: A Father, A Son, and The Legacy of a Freedom Ride. This book chronicles Dave Dennis Sr. ’s Movement stories from 1961 to 1964. The stories are transcribed by his son Dave Dennis Jr. Meghan : He (the son) was like translating a n oral history that he had broken down through interviews . I like the wordplay he used but I also questioned how much of this is the son kind of creating literature and not necessarily the father’s voice? But at the same time, I appreciated it because it’s so inter-generational because the Movement is about family and passing down activism. Janice: T he re is a YouTube video about this book recorded at MDAH. (Mississippi Department of Archives and History . ) The v...

Never Far from Home by Bruce Jackson

Book Discussion of Never Far from Home Feb. 10, 2024 Fifteen of us met on Saturday Feb. 10th for our first book discussion of the year. We talked about Never Far from Home: My Journey from Brooklyn to Hip Hop, and the Law by Bruce Jackson. Bruce Jackson is a managing attorney at Microsoft. His story began in Brooklyn, then to the Amsterdam Housing Projects in Manhattan, and on to Georgetown Law School. He worked a while in entertainment law, and after music began to be delivered over a digital platform, Jackson decided he needed to learn all he could about the digital world, a decision that led him to Microsoft. Barb M. Started off our talk by saying, “He started getting all these epiphanies. The thing I felt most threatened by, yet impressed by, while reading this, is that he was just a hair away from being a tragedy, and I think that's a common story and not an unusual story. Barb L. reminded us of how he hid his musical theater activities from his street f...

Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series

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