Spring 2023 Common Read Events
Wed Feb 8 11:00-12:15 Glenn North Poetry Workshop
Glenn North is an award-winning poet, activist, educator, and the Executive Director at the Bruce A. Watkins Cultural Center. In this workshop, Mr. North will work with students on using poetry to address issues of social justice, and self-empowerment through reflective poetry.
Link to recorded event video Passcode: 1V7A#FR#
Racism in Kansas City: A Brief History
Garrett Griffin, historian and author of Racism in Kansas City: A Brief History, will take students on a journey through local history, viewed from a similar lens to the one in which The 1619 Project views American history as a whole.
Thu Apr 6 11:00-12:15 and 12:30-1:45 The Kansas City Defender’s Ryan Sorrell
Ryan Sorrell is the founder and editor-in-chief of digital media outlet The Kansas City Defender, and a recipient of the Civil and Human Rights Award. Mr. Sorrell and his publication quickly rose to national prominence this year when they covered the stories of missing local black women while police denied requests for help from the community. Mr. Sorrell will place this case in the contexts of white racial capitalism as a foundational element of American journalism, the importance of listening to communities and women of color, and the need for black media outlets.
Zoom recording of The Kansas City Defender's Ryan Sorrell