With the murder of George Floyd in May, the country has been galvanized into confronting its history and ongoing issues of racism and social justice—with Wayland being no exception. In this spirit, the Wayland Free Public Library has made these issues the centerpiece of its latest edition of Wayland Reads, the program aimed at getting the whole town to read and discuss a single book.
This year, that book is Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist, a #1 New York Times bestseller. Kendi won the National Book Award in 2016 for Stamped From the Beginning: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. He currently holds the Andrew W. Mellon Professorship in the Humanities at Boston University (a post held previously only by the late Elie Wiesel, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize) and is the Founding Director of BU’s Center for Antiracist Research. He has a Ph.D. in African American Studies from Temple University.
According to Kendi’s website (ibramxkendi.com), the book “weaves together an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science–including the story of his own awakening to antiracism–bringing it all together in a cogent, accessible form….Instead of working with the policies and system we have in place, Kendi asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it.”
Younger readers can join the conversation by reading Kendi’s and Jason Reynolds’ “remix” of his earlier book, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You.
So far, the Library has planned two related author events (all programs will be conducted online). On February 4, Prof. Tyler Stovall of Fordham University will discuss his book, White Freedom: the Racial History of an Idea, which traces the complex relationship between freedom and race from the eighteenth century to today, revealing how being free has meant being white. The program on April 11 will feature Prof. Alex Zamalin of University of Detroit Mercy, whose book, Against Civility, urges citizens to abandon discreet politeness when it comes to racial justice and instead more fully support disruptive actions and calls for liberation.
In addition, on February 22, Dr. Brenna Greer, Associate Professor of History at Wellesley College, will lead a virtual tour of the significant images, protest signs, and social media posts that have come out of the civil rights movement and Black Lives Matter movement. This event is made possible in collaboration with the Merrimack Valley Libraries Working Towards Social Justice.
The Library also intends to hold discussion groups on Kendi’s books and is looking for session leaders from across the community. If you’re interested, contact Courtney Michael at cmichael@minlib.net. For teens, we’ve scheduled a discussion of Stamped for February 23rd.
Related, ongoing programs include the Library’s monthly Social Justice Book Group, and a Racial Equity Study Group that convenes on February 25. There’s also a very popular Social Justice Storytime for kids.
Check out tinyurl.com/WaylandReads2021 or keep an eye on Library’s web site, newsletter and emails for additional programs.
