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Join the Johnson County Public Library for a community read this June.
JCPL is participating in One State / One Story, a statewide read supported by Indiana Humanities. This year’s book selections are part of Indiana Humanities’ Advancing Racial Equity project, encouraging history discussions to understand current injustices better and strive for racial equity.
JCPL book clubs will read the adult selection “All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake” by Tiya Miles throughout June. Winner of the 2021 National Book Award in nonfiction, Miles’ work dives deeply into the history of a single object: a cotton sack embroidered with a few deceptively simple lines.
Franklin College’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion and English department faculty are partnering with us to facilitate the book discussions. Even if you can’t join one of the book discussions, we encourage you to check out a copy at any JCPL branch and read along with us!
We’ll also have informational and cultural programming to support the statewide read.
Learn about the history of Juneteenth at several upcoming programs. The Trafalgar branch will show the movie “Miss Juneteenth” on June 6; learn about the history of the federal holiday from Dr. Terri Roberts-Leonard at the Franklin branch on June 9; families can celebrate the holiday on June 19 at the Trafalgar branch with stories, songs, crafts and a discussion of “Freedom Over Me” by Ashley Bryan, the One State / One Story selection for children.
Thanks to a grant from Indiana Humanities, we’ll enjoy a dynamic dance performance from Epiphany Dance Collective and learn about West African culture at the Clark Pleasant branch on June 15. On June 23, the White River branch will host Dr. Tony Jean Dickerson, who will give a presentation on Black quilters and how the craft has been used to tell stories through the arts for generations.
Be sure to visit PageAfterPage.org/one for even more information on the program presenters’ topics and to find a book club if you’re interested in joining the discussion. We hope everyone in the community will join us as the whole state reads the same title this year.
Kelly Staten is JCPL’s Programming Manager. JCPL staff members share in writing this twice-monthly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
