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:

• Feast of All Saints
• Maxed Out
• The Road to Freedom: The Vernon Johns Story
• American Violet

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

We want to hear from you!

What books/movies/events that pertain to impacting our community should we consider?