Sunday, March 20, 2016

Common Read Projects and Between the World and Me


Beyond, or more appropriately, in part because of the extensive coverage of Ta-Nehisi Coates's book, Between the World and Me, several institutions -- universities, churches, libraries, and smaller reading groups -- have adopted the book. Some groups have announced selecting the book to cover in fall 2016 and 2017.  

[Related: The curious minds of Colson Whitehead and Ta-Nehisi Coates]

Back in the fall of 2015 when the book came out, I coordinated a small online common read of Coates's book with a group here on my campus. I also heard that Howard University selected the book for students to read in a lead-up to Coates giving a talk there.  

Here's a partial list of "common read" projects, book clubs, and reading groups that have been done on Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me as well as upcoming common reads on the book. 

2015  
• Donaldson Correctional Facility - Bessemer, Alabama
• Howard University - Washington, DC
One Town, One Book Kickoff Event - Water Street Exeter, New Hampshire
"Pop-up Teach-in" at Indiana University - Bloomington, Indiana
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville - Edwardsville, IL 
The Atlantic - online book discussion
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Susquehanna Valley - Northumberland, Pennsylvania

2016 (January - August)
Academic Business Officers Group, University of California - San Francisco, California
CalTech Women's Club - Pasadena, California
Chadbourne Residential College - University of Wisconsin-Madison 
Columbia Univ. Southern Cal Book Club 
Denver Public Library - Denver, Colorado
Diversity & Inclusion Book Club: Heart of West Michigan United Way - Grand Rapids, Michigan 
Downers Grove Public Library - Downers Grove, Illinois
Durham Tech Library - Durham, North Carolina
First Parish Unitarian Universalist - Needham, Massachusetts 
First Unitarian Universalist Church of  Niagara - Niagara Falls, New York
Harvard Club of Dallas - Dallas, Texas
Jackson State University, Fannie Lou Hamer Institute - Jackson, Mississippi
Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Long Beach: Building Healthy Communities - Long Beach, California
Looscan Neighborhood Library - Houston, Texas
MIT Libraries, Diversity & Inclusion Book Group - Cambridge, Massachusetts
Morehouse College - Atalanta, Georgia 
New York Public Library Fort Washington Branch Book Club - New York, New York
North Decatur Presbyterian Church - Decatur, Georgia 
Oak Hill Presbyterian Church - St. Louis, MO
Oak Park Public Library - Oak Park, Illinois
Office of Social Justice, Inclusion, and Conflict Resolution, Rowan University  - Glassboro, New Jersey
One Book, One Community YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region - Saginaw, Michigan
Public Library of Brookline, Book Group - Brookline, Massachusetts
Reading Group in Minnesota
Social Justice Book Club - University of Wisconsin-Madison
Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice Book Club - Lewes, Delaware
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church  - White River Junction, Vermont
St. James' Episcopal Church - Leesburg, Virginia
The California Council of Churches/IMPACT Justice Seekers Project et al. - Sacramento, California 
The Community Church of Chapel Hill, Unitarian Universalist - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia - Columbia, Maryland
• Unitarian Church of Harrisburg - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Washington Bothell - Bothell, WA
Williamsburg Baptist Church Book Group - Williamsburg, Virginia 
Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice - St. Louis, MO

2016-2017
Burlingame Public Library - Burlingame, California
Charleston County Public Library - Charleston, South Carolina
Clifton Baptist Church - Louisville, Kentucky
Fit Oshkosh,Inc. Color-Brave Community Read - Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Gustavus Adolphus College -- St. Peters, Minnesota 
Hiram College -  Hiram, Ohio
League of Women Voters - Edina, Minnesota
Mount Holyoke College - South Hadley, Massachusetts
Mount Holyoke Club of Chicago - Chicago, Illinois
Penn State Brandywine - Media, Pennsylvania
UCLA - Los Angeles, California 
University of Kansas - Lawrence, Kansas  
University of Michigan-Flint - Flint, Michigan 
University of Oregon - Eugene, Oregon
Utah State University Honors Program - Logan, Utah
Western Reads (Western Alumni group) - London, Ontario, Canada
Western Washington University - Bellingham, WA

Related:
Notations for a common reading experience of Ta-Nehisi Coates
A Notebook on the work of Ta-Nehisi Coates  

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