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...

Cornelius Eady: Brutal Imagination 2001

Eady , Cornelius: Brutal Imagination: Poems   Although this book is only slightly over 100 pages, the impact is huge. There are two cycles of poems, the first is from the point of view of a phantom young Black man who Susan Smith claimed kidnapped her two children, after she had actually drowned her children. The second cycle, called The Running Man Poems deals with a character based on reality, but whose legend is bigger than the person. Brutal Imagination was a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry in 2001 , and both cycles of poetry have been adapted into theater productions , led by Jazz composer Deidre Murray. In fact, Cornelius Eady, himself, leads a jazz trio, in addition to being a poet. This book is his seventh published collection. Cornelius Eady Trio Twelve of us met on Saturday, April 27 th for our book discussion. As we usually do for National Poetry Month, we took turns reading the poems aloud....

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is a fictional oral history of the interracial 1970s rock duo Opal Jewell and Nev Charles. The journalist S. Sunny Shelton (nee SarahLena Curtis) is now editor of the music magazine Aural . Sunny proposes a book- length feature about Opal and Nev because there’s a rumor of an upcoming reunion tour. Sunny has her own reasons for wanting to write this story. The book begins with her note: Disclosure: My father, a drummer named Jimmy Curtis, fell in love with Opal Jewell in the summer of 1970. For the duration of their affair, he was married to my mother, who in ’71 got pregnant with me. Before my birth…he was beaten to death by a racist gang during the riot at the Rivington Showcase. And before my mother could bury his broken body, his mistress blazed to stardom. In continuing the Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series, six of us met on Saturday Oct. 22 to discuss this incredible book. The way that the fictional duo fit int...

Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series

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