Reads and Reels
In 2008, I started a discussion group with a few friends, and it consisted of watching a movie and reading a book monthly pertaining to a topic related to the uplift of the black community. Since then, the group has grown into discussing not only books and films, but also attending exhibits and events. From our dialogue, I hope solutions are generated. Our first widescale volunteer project was Halloween weekend 2010 in New Orleans, and we had a group of 15 volunteers from Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Vicksburg, and Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and even Chicago, Illinois! The trip was amazing, and I hope you will join us on our next trip.
Below is a running list of the movies and books we’ve discussed as well as outings and Reads and Reels events. A suggested reading list if you have time to continue delving into the topics we cover is coming soon.
Movies
- He’s Just Not That into You
- The Souls of Black Girls
- Black Is… Black Ain’t
- Good Hair
- The Spook Who Sat by the Door
Coming in 2011:
Books
- Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey
- Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America by Charisse Jones and Kumea Shorter-Gooden
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Coming in 2011:
- Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America by Eugene Robinson
- Sprawl City: Race, Politics, and Planning in Atlanta by Robert D. Bullard, Glenn S. Johnson, and Angel O. Torres
- Living in the Village: Build Your Financial Future and Strengthen Your Community by Ryan Mack
- Them by Nathan McCall
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Outings
- America I Am
- Freedom’s Sisters – Labor Day 2010
- The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years, a play by Pearl Cleage – November 14, 2010
- Atlanta: Broke-ology – February 16, 2011
- Atlanta: The Colored Museum – TBD
Events
- Screening of CNN’s Black in America: Almighty Debt – October 2010
- New Orleans Volunteer Trip – Halloween 2010
Coming in 2011:
- West Jackson Beautification MLK Service Project – Saturday, January 15, 2011
- Volunteering in Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, LA – Date TBD
- Hands on Atlanta Day – October 2011
It was a really nice idea, since sometimes we feel that we don’t have time to read a book or even to go for watching a movie
But if we do as you are saying it will work out.
Thanks for you new idea.
regards,
Nadeen
We make time for what’s important. Let’s read and discuss!