Photo by Taylor Brown
To conclude Black History Month, the library hosted an event on Feb. 28, where 40 students and staff members came together to discuss books by African American authors or with African American characters and what these books meant to them.

    “[We thought] it was a nice way to wrap up Black History Month and celebrate the month,” librarian Hollie Hawkins said.

    The event started off with food and fun; as the people who showed up munched on chicken sandwiches and appetizers, the librarians discussed some of the prizes that were available to win—this included t-shirts, socks, and even some signed books.

    Once this was over, everyone was split into groups and given time to discuss, in both their smaller groups and as a whole group, the books that they read in honor of Black History Month and what it really meant to them.Photo by Taylor Brown

     “It was cool to see people engaged and hear them report out, because for some people it was more about the plot, but some people got deeper into the issues,” librarian Kristin Mckeown said. “I really felt that the entire group was very respectful and interested in what everyone else had to say.”

    A variety of very important conversations relating to Black History Month occurred through the use of the books that they read. One topic of conversation that came up multiple times was about stereotypes.

    Photo by Taylor Brown
“I read The Sun is Also a Star by Nicole Yoon, I just love how she made these characters their own person,” freshman Cortney Umoein said. “These characters are just not okay with how the world felt each race should be like.”

This can go for any stereotype revolving around the African American race, and all of this was discussed through the lens of the books that they read.

    “[Another student] talked about the fact that many people in our culture will have a very fixed, stereotypical box that they try to fit people of color into,” Mckeown said. “These are books that are reflective of the fact that these stereotypes are just inaccurate.”

    Since this was the first time the library has held an event similar to this one, participants were asked to fill out a feedback sheet; they concluded that the event was a success.Photo by Taylor Brown

    “The participants felt that this was an opportunity to have conversations that we don’t often have the opportunity to have,” Mckeown said. “Everybody seemed to find meaning in it.”

    Students and staff can look forward to having more book discussions such as this one next year that focus on a different underrepresented group.