A dozen members of the Tri-Town and Beyond Community Read group, plus approximately 120 viewers on ORCTV’s Facebook page, met for a live Zoom discussion on Aug. 27 to share their thoughts and questions about “How to be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi and “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. 

The Community Read group is at the halfway point in the readings and met to discuss some of the issues expressed in the books.

Frances Kearns started the discussion by reading an except from the book, “How to Be an Antiracist” that related to biology and the idea of generalizing one’s biology with their race. She spoke about the importance of not generalizing people based on their race, which led to a discussion about power dynamics people face throughout their day.

Stacie Charbonneau Hess talked about “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You.” She related it to how history is taught in schools and can be re-thought of through a different lens. Participants commented on how they have seen history and biology in school related to slavery, the creation of racial hierarchy, and the experimentation on women of color to advance science.

One solution that the group posed is supporting schools in decolonizing the curriculum, or confronting and changing past colonized tendencies of the education system, so students are exposed to perspectives and voices of marginalized groups.

The group said that to be more actively antiracist, viewers can support housing policies that create affordable housing in communities such as Mattapoisett, which is considering closing an elementary school due to a shrinking population of children.

Jordan Pouliot Latham pointed out that a school closure contradicts the argument that affordable housing puts a drain a community’s schools.

“Our towns could be in crisis if we do not have more children in our communities,” she said.

A recording of the discussion can be viewed at vimeo.com/orctvcommunity.

Everyone is welcome to join the Community Reads and participate on the group’s Facebook page.

To obtain copies of the books, search the SAILS library network catalog at http://www.sailsinc.org/.