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Book discussion series looks at Black resiliencies in America

The next Let’s Talk About It book discussion series at ӰAV will focus on how African Americans have worked to overcome obstacles like racism and marginalization in society on a quest for equal treatment.

The series opens at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 10 with “A Matter of Black and White: The Autobiography of Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher,” presented by American women’s history specialist Sunu Kodumthara.

Fisher’s autobiography features her challenge to segregation laws while applying to attend an Oklahoma law school in 1946. As a volunteer “test” plaintiff for the NAACP, her case helped establish a precedent for the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Thurgood Marshall, who would later become the first Black U.S. Supreme Court justice, was Fisher’s attorney.

The theme for this year’s Let’s Talk About It series is “Of Shadows and Light: Stories of African American Resilience.”

Curator Tonnia L. Anderson said the series will be a deep exploration into how African Americans have worked toward justice and empowerment despite the difficulties they have faced historically — and even now.

“Collectively, these works not only give insight into the endeavor of trying to find a sense of place and belonging within American society, but also challenge us to reflect upon the meaning of the democratic ideals that bind Americans together,” Anderson stated in her series essay.

ӰAV’s Jeanne Hoffman Smith Center for Film & Literature is hosting the series, which is sponsored by Oklahoma Humanities and funded through the National Endowment for the Humanities’ “A More Perfect Union” initiative.

All discussions begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Walker Center for Arts and Sciences room 151, located at NW 25th Street and Florida Avenue on the ӰAV campus. 

Books for the series may be borrowed free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis at ӰAV’s Dulaney-Browne Library circulation desk. Participants are also welcome to join the sessions with their own books.

Other upcoming sessions include:

  • Sept. 24: “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehesi Coates
  • Oct. 8: “Citizen: An American Lyric” by Claudie Rankine
  • Oct. 22: “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neal Hurston
  • Nov. 12: “The Cross and the Lynching Tree” by James H. Cone

For more information about the series, visit the Oklahoma Humanities website at .

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