Healing Racism in Denton Gathering at Patchouli Joe's Books & Indulgences (221 Hickory St.)

Join us for the Community in Conversation—Denton Book Club as continue the conversation on Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine. This bold new book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named "post-race" society.

What to Expect:
✅ Guided conversation on key themes
✅ Thought-provoking questions to spark discussion
✅ A welcoming space for diverse perspectives

This will be a safe, open, and engaging discussion where we explore Alexander’s insights and reflect on how this impacts our own community right here in Denton. Whether you’ve studied racism your whole life or are just starting, your voice is welcome!