Kingston conversation series addresses race and racism in healthcare

Some of the books for the first meeting of 2021.

Kingston Reads, a series of community conversations about race and racism, will begin on Thursday, January 21 —with a slightly new format and a new mix of moderators.

The first session will be held that date from 5-6 p.m. on Zoom when moderators Erica Brown, Charlotte Adamis, and Shaniqua Bowden are joined by special guests Dara Lurie and Marsha Sebro for a conversation about race, healthcare and healing.  Registration will open on Thursday, January 7 at https://kingstonreads.org.

Conversations in 2021 will be scheduled monthly (every third Thursday) and they will be theme-based. While there will always be at least one recommended book for each conversation, there will also be suggested short articles, videos, and podcasts related to the monthly theme. “We wanted to open up access by offering a variety of resources,” said Adamis. “Folks are encouraged to read, listen, or watch—and they are also welcomed to just show up and be part of the conversation. There’s no test, no requirements, other than a sincere desire to be engaged in the work of antiracism.”

The recommended books for the January session are My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem; Dying of Whiteness:  How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland by Jonathan M. Metzl; and Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Dorothy Roberts. Links for related short articles, videos, and podcasts are on the Kingston Reads website.

Rough Draft Bar & Books is offering a discount on book purchases for Kingston Reads, as well as a “pay it forward” program; participants can buy two copies and Rough Draft will give the second copy away to a reader in need.

In February, the Kingston Reads conversation will be part of Kingston’s Black History Month. On Thursday, February 18 at 5 p.m. participants will be invited to join the moderators for a spirited, virtual conversation about race and social classifications inspired by Isabel Wilkerson’s award-winning book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. More information will be posted on the Kingston Reads site by the end of January.