Northern Michigan University's Diversity Common Reader Program will kick off this semester's activities with a virtual discussion of the featured book, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and how it relates to current events at 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29.
Coates' book explores what it means to live in a black body in contemporary America. Between the World and Me "folds trenchant social critique into an intimate letter addressed to the author's son, and is a singular and deeply compelling treatment of issues at the heart of the antiracist protests that defined 2020."
The NMU Zoom discussion can be accessed at https://nmu.zoom.us/.../tJUocuyvrTsjHdVOj4BqGbryoHFtMFivcYaf.
A Campus Cinema screening of the Black Panther film will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, in Jamrich 1000. It will be followed by a virtual Skill Builder workshop that addresses Black Panther and Afrofuturism with Leah Mine of the University of Indianapolis at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2. Register for the Skill Builder here.
Other upcoming events include writing and art contests; workshops on critical literacy and zine making; lectures on history, politics, racism and public health, and monthly book discussions.
Those who've read the book are asked to submit a brief video response up to three minutes long to Between the World and Me: Virtual Voices, which will highlight perspectives from students, staff, faculty and community members.
The Diversity Common Reader Program (DCRP) is a semester-long, campus-wide initiative that focuses on reading as a means of social dialogue and change. Held annually since 2013, this program comprises an interdisciplinary series of events inspired by a nonfiction book that advances discussions of diversity, inclusion and justice.
Each year, books are distributed free of charge to interested NMU students. Copies of Between the World and Me are still available at Lydia M. Olson Library or by requesting an ebook (Kindle format) here.
For more information, visit https://nmu.edu/dcrp/ or contact Professor Lesley Larkin at llarkin@nmu.edu.