540WMain Moves Unpacking Book Discussion Series to Facebook

We are pleased to announce that our Unpacking Book Discussion Series is now online via Facebook groups

Dear Community,

Unpacking™ was founded in 2018 as a series of informal and thought provoking community discussions based around antiracism books.  Beginning January 6th the series will be run as an online book club with discussions, lessons, and live chats moderated by 540WMain Founding Director, Calvin Eaton and guests.

The upcoming book to be discussed:

How to be An Antiracist by New York Times best selling author Ibram X Kendi

The discussion begins January 6th 2020

Click here to join the group

FAQs

Can anyone join the Unpacking™online book club?

Unpacking™ online book club is open to black, latino, and other people of color as well as white community members. 

Do I need to have a Facebook account to join the Unpacking™ online book club? 

Yes. You need to be a user of Facebook to join

Do I need to read the entire book before joining  Unpacking™ online book club?

No. You can join a discussion no matter where you are in the book and be prepared to engaging in weekly reading assignments and discussions. 

Do I have to be a social activist to join the Unpacking™ online book club?

No you don’t need to be an social activist but you do need to be pursuing antiracist ways of being in your everyday life and actively advocating for the dismantling of white supremacy culture and racism at the institutional and systemic level.

About Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram X. Kendi is one of America’s foremost historians and leading antiracist voices. He is a New York Times bestselling author and the Founding Director of The Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University in Washington, DC. A professor of history and international relations, Kendi is an ideas columnist at The Atlantic. He is the author of THE BLACK CAMPUS MOVEMENT, which won the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize, and STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING: THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF RACIST IDEAS IN AMERICA, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction. At 34 years old, Kendi was the youngest ever winner of the NBA for Nonfiction. He grew up dreaming about playing in the NBA (National Basketball Association), and ironically he ended up joining the other NBA. Click here to read more

About the book

Ibram X. Kendi’s concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America–but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. 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. In his memoir, Kendi 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. He begins by helping us rethink our most deeply held, if implicit, beliefs and our most intimate personal relationships (including beliefs about race and IQ and interracial social relations) and reexamines the policies and larger social arrangements we support. How to Be an Antiracist promises to become an essential book for anyone who wants to go beyond an awareness of racism to the next step of contributing to the formation of a truly just and equitable society.