In August 2023, Education Coordinator Emily Lake and Member Services Director Bridget Schuster partnered up to launch the KCBA member bookclub. The bookclub aims to bring the legal community together on issues of diversity and equity; to build community and friendships among our members and staff; and to expose our broader community to books it might otherwise have missed.
Between August 2023 and June 2024, KCBA’s bookclub has selected a new book for discussion approximately once every two months. For each book, we meet once in person (lunch is provided!) and once virtually, to ensure that everyone can participate. Our discussions have been lively, engaging, and educational — and at each meeting we have a combination of new and repeat participants.
Here are the books we’ve read so far (with publishers’ descriptions), including the upcoming book selected for late 2024:
“How to Be an AntiRacist” by Ibram X. Kendi
“Ibram X. Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas — from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities — that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.”
“Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson
“[A] masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon . . . explor[ing] how America, throughout history, has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Immersive, deeply researched, and beautifully written, Caste inspires us to transcend artificial and destructive divisions toward hope in our common humanity.”
“Homegoing: A Novel” by Yaa Gyasi
“Homegoing follows the parallel paths of [two sisters born in 18th-century Ghana] and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates’ slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed — and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.”
“The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America” by Thomas King
“Thomas King offers a deeply knowing, darkly funny, unabashedly opinionated, and utterly unconventional account of Indian-White relations in North America since initial contact. Both timeless and timely, The Inconvenient Indian ultimately rejects the pessimism and cynicism with which Natives and Whites regard one another to chart a new and just way forward for Indians and non-Indians alike.”
“Crying in H Mart: A Memoir” by Michelle Zauner
“This is Zauner’s searingly candid coming-of-age story: of growing apart from, and then back together with, her Korean identity and of forging her own path in the wake of a devastating loss. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up Asian American, straining to meet her mother’s expectations, moving across the country, and returning home to reckon with grief. And through it all, she savors the unexpected solace of weekly trips to her favorite Asian grocery store.”
“Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism” by Laura E. Gómez
“Who are Latinos and where do they fit in America’s racial order? . . . Gómez, a leading critical race scholar, argues that it is only recently that Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, Central Americans, and others are seeing themselves (and being seen by others) under the banner of a cohesive racial identity. . . . [Gómez] illuminat[es] for readers the fascinating race-making, unmaking, and re-making processes that Latinos have undergone over time, indelibly changing the way race functions in this country.”
“Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century” by Alice Wong
Our next book is “Disability Visibility” by Alice Wong. We will be meeting June 20 in person and June 27 online to discuss this book. If you haven’t already, please consider joining us in reading in the future months. We greatly enjoy coming together.
