Read for Racial Justice (R4RJ)

Thank you for your interest in Read for Racial Justice (R4RJ). Our 2021 program is full, but we encourage you to fill out the form (linked below) if you'd be interested in joining future workshops!
 
Napa Bookmine has partnered with Jenna Sanders, co-creator of our Feminist Book Club, and Gabriela Fernandez of the People's Collective for Change to bring you a new workshop opportunity in 2021: Read for Racial Justice. Inspired by the growing social justice movements seen across the country over the course of the last year, and in an effort to become better community members, Read for Racial Justice was designed to be a consciousness-raising community workshop where people of all ages and backgrounds will work to better understand racism and their role in the perpetuation of racial oppression. In 2021, the group will learn to: identify privilege, deconstruct whiteness, learn about systemic racism, and commit to the ongoing work of disrupting the systems and behaviors that normalize harm caused to people racialized as "Other."

The workshop will center around five memoirs, each sharing a unique perspective on racism and racial oppression: When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Live's Matter Memoir by Patrisse Cullors, Rez Life: An Indian's Journey through Reservation Life by David Treuer, The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, and The Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror by Moustafa Bayoumi, and Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong.
 
Each workshop session will stem from the memoirs and challenge each participant to address their own participation in racist systems. We'll also work to identify ways to engage in the disruption of those systems on both an individual and collective basis. We'll close each session with Gabriela Fernandez of The People's Collective for Change who will inform participants on specific ways they can support racial justice initiatives in Napa County. We're thrilled for this collaboration and are working with PCC on some other exciting offerings for the near future, so stay tuned for those.

All meetings will be held from 6:30-8:30PM on the second Monday of every other month from March through November. Meeting dates and their corresponding books are as follows:
  • Monday, March 8th - When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Cullors
  • Monday, May 10th - Rez Life: An Indian's Journey by David Treuer
  • Monday, July 12th - The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
  • Monday, September 13th - The Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror by Moustafa Bayoumi
  • Monday, November 8th - Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

Read for Racial Justice community requires all participants to commit to the full five meetings up-front. Cost for the workshop is $160 and covers all five books and their corresponding workshop sessions.

Thanks to a couple of extremely generous angel donors in our community, we are now offering four need-based FULL scholarship spots to members of the community 25 and under who are interested in joining us on our R4RJ  journey in 2021. Are you 25 or under and find the $160 workshop fee prohibitive? Apply for one of four sponsored spots when you fill out your application form below. These sponsored spots will be filled on a need-based, first-come-first-served basis.

To participate in Read for Racial Justice is to agree to embody the values and conduct yourself by the principles listed below. These values and principles are collaborative and ever-changing, designed to meet the needs of the community and to preserve the creation of a brave space to discuss racism and racial justice in America through the lens of selected memoirs.

  • Humility - We gather as students of racial justice intending to learn, grow, and act from an informed place. We are willing to admit fault, be corrected, and adjust our language and behaviors accordingly.
  • Open-Heartedness - We celebrate differences. Differences of gender expression, race, ethnicity, ability, country of origin, sexual orientation, class, access, and privilege. We celebrate the courage of those who are new to this work and the wisdom of those who are seasoned veterans in the fight for racial justice.
  • Respect - We are tellers of our own stories, both during the meetings and once we leave the meetings. We speak with respect for all humans. We do not use language that disparages anyone based on race, age, gender, ability, size, sexual orientation, religion, mental health status, or any other attribute. If someone expresses that something we have said offends them, we do our best to adjust our language to avoid further offense.
  • Open-Mindedness - We listen to understand. We listen without judgement. We communicate with one another in curiosity-driven dialogues, not debates. When someone tells a personal story, we believe them.
  • Authenticity - We speak and act in direct alignment with our personal code of values. We show up fully, trusting that we will be met with compassion, respect, non-judgement, and celebration for who we are and what we are able to bring to the conversations and ensuing actions.
  • Compassion - We approach ourselves and others with intentional kindness. We celebrate the work that we are each able to do and respect that the work will look different for each one of us. We are unified in our commitment to fighting for racial justice, we are varied in our actions taken to achieve equity and liberation.

Our 2021 program is currently full. If you are interested in joining us for Read for Racial Justice in the future, please click the button below and fill out the form.