This book was chosen to take us on a journey of gaining a broader perspective of the impact of slavery and the harsh reality of the lives of enslaved people and their descendants in a way that reminds us that this is not something that we are so far removed from. It gives us the opportunity to learn the ways in which slavery is often misremembered and watered down so we can remember and connect with those who suffered and still suffer today.

Ackerman’s Community Book Club selection for February is Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown. adrienne is the writer-in-residence at the Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute, author of both fiction and non fiction books, a podcast creator, a doula, activist, and Black feminist rooted in Detroit.

Our January Book of the Month is My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies, by Resmaa Menakem.

Our December Book of the Month is Covering: The Hidden Assault on our Human Rights by Kenji Yoshino. In Covering, the author draws on both his personal experiences as a gay Asian American and expands upon these experiences to examine common ways many individuals downplay aspects of their identities that are based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and disability to become mainstream.