Greetings ,

These are somber times with everything that is occurring in our world, and I am glad you took action to join our Anti-Racist Book Club. I am looking forward to the next ten months together and the books we will read and the important conversations we are going to have.

We have an important role to play as allies and co-conspirators in this movement. This will be hard work tackling difficult subjects, and will likely push us out of our comfort zone. I want to take a moment to applaud you for taking this step to support black Americans and the cause of racial equality and equity. Please feel free to take a few minutes to read this article from Vox discussing how to be a White Ally.

The tentative format for this Book Club will be:

1. Selecting that month's book - The first book we will be reading is Ibram X. Kendi's "How To Be An Anti-Racist." This book is hard to find right now, so far I have only found it at the Frugal Book Store (link below).
2. Scheduling the Monthly Meeting - Timelines may vary depending on book lengths, sometimes we may go for three weeks, others five. It will all depend on the book; roughly we will have ten meetings over ten months.
3. Read The Book - In addition to that, I am looking into platforms to use for our ongoing discussions. Perhaps Slack, perhaps a private Facebook group, maybe somewhere else. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
4. Monthly Meeting - We will partake in a Zoom Call, scheduled for 2 hours to discuss the book, and the takeaways we had from it. (approx. 1 hour) and then the remaining time will be to create a bunch of talking points on the topics presented that we can use in Anti-Racist conversations that we have. I will work to convert those talking points into a useful and tangible resource for us.

In preparation for our first meeting, I wanted to provide a recommended list of Black-owned Bookstores we should order our books from, rather than use Amazon. I feel it is important that we support black-owned small businesses. Please consider using one of these bookstores when ordering your books.

• The Lit. Bar - Bronx, NY
• Cafe con Libros - Brooklyn, NY
• Semicolon Bookstore - Chicago, IL
• Black Stone Bookstore - Ypsilanti, MI
• Mahogany Books - Washington, D.C.
• Frugal Book Store - Roxbury, MA
• Longer List of Black Owned Book Stores

Go ahead and order "How To Be An Anti-Racist" now, so we can begin reading as soon as possible. Please note that the cost of these books will fluctuate. In particular, "The Miner's Canary" is a textbook style book, so it's price will be more than a typical hardcover (approx. $50) though it's length is not textbook length (approx. 330 pages).

Lastly, I would love to hop on a Zoom call with you and the entire Book Club. So we can meet our fellow Anti-Racists and answer any questions you may have, or change to the format we may wish to incorporate to have this be a success. Click on this link and let me know what times work best for you, and I'll schedule the call in a future e-mail based on the results.

Thank you again for joining our Anti-Racist Book Club, I look forward to taking this journey with you.

In solidarity,

Patrick

BOOK LIST

• How To Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• White Rage by Carol Anderson
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
• Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• The Miner's Canary by Lani Guiner and Gerald Torres
• The Possessive Investment in Whiteness by George Lipstiz
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison