Battling Racism: The One Book Program Adds New Book

Change is happening all around with many of PVCC’s services adjusting to accommodate for the strange times.  The One Book Program is no exception.  For its ninth year, the One Book Program at PVCC will be hosting two books as opposed to one: How to Be An Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi, for the fall 2020 semester and You’re More Powerful Than You Think, by Eric Liu, for the spring 2021 semester.

“The original book, You’re More Powerful Than You Think, was scheduled to be the only One Book this year, but we added How to Be An Antiracist so that we could address the pressing racial justice issues brought to the fore after the extralegal killing of George Floyd,” said Crystal Newell, the director of library services at PVCC.

According to a starred review from Publishers Weekly, How to Be An Antiracist is “A boldly articulated, historically informed explanation of what exactly racist ideas and thinking are…[Kendi’s] prose is thoughtful, sincere, and polished. This powerful book will spark many conversations.”

In another review, Robin DiAngelo, a New York Times bestselling author of White Fragility, said, “Ibram Kendi is today’s visionary in the enduring struggle for racial justice…How to Be An Antiracist offers us a necessary and critical way forward.”

PVCC has provided numerous ways to get a copy of the One Book.  There are print copies available in the Betty Sue Jessup Library, but they are first come first serve and have limited copies.  There are also twenty ebooks available for checkout along with an audiobook.  Additionally, teachers that choose to incorporate the One Book into their curriculum will likely provide copies for their students.

Aside from teachers using the One Book in their classes, there will also be several special events based around the ideas presented in the text, one of which is the upcoming Symposium on Racial Justice.  

“In the spirit of national and local dialogues on racial injustice, PVCC is seeking to put together both a student symposium and a faculty/staff symposium on racial justice issues,” said Newell in a recent email. “Both symposiums seek to give voice to the lived experience of persons of color, the frustrations, concerns, and possible reforms to the legal, financial, or educational systems that perpetuate racial inequity.”  All forms of expression are welcome and encouraged, from written forms such as essays and poems to visual forms such as dances, art displays, and many more.  These will be collected and displayed on the PVCC website, along with the hope that they will also be shared with state and local governments.

As stated on the One Book Program page on the PVCC website: “The One Book Program…is an institution-wide initiative whose goal is to bring together students, faculty, staff, and members of the community to read the same book and take part in activities inspired by the text.”  

For more information, contact the One Book Program Planning Committee at onebok@pvcc.edu or contact Crystal Newell directly at cnewell@pvcc.edu.