Central Library, PEN America Birmingham Reads To Host Conversation About Imani Perry's Book on Friday, November 18

What: Birmingham Reads Pen America Birmingham Book Club Conversations of Imani Perry's "South to America"
When: Friday, November 18, 2022, 6:00 p.m. 
Where: Central Library, 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, Alabama, 35203
Link to event on BPL Calendar

Birmingham, Ala. Please join PEN America Birmingham  at the Central Library in downtown Birmingham at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, November 18, for Birmingham Reads Pen America Birmingham Book Club Conversations of Imani Perry's "South to America," an interactive community discussion on decolonizing language, marginalization, language, and identity.

The conversation comes just two days after Perry's book "South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon Line to Understand the Soul of a Nation" won the prestigious 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

Teaching artist Brianna Jordynn “B.J.” Wright, along with their co-presenters, will lead attendees though a dynamic session to better understand the selected text, conceptually define slavery to understand the complexities and nuances of its legacy, and utilize library resources to explore family history and heritage. 

Using Imani Perry’s South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation as a discussion guide, this conversation will cover the complexities and nuances of the legacy of slavery. Following this debate style event, attendees will better understand the effects of colonization on education, language, identity, and power. 

This event is a part a series of ongoing events within the Birmingham Reads Project, a citywide literary event dedicated to engaging and uniting Birmingham community members in reading one book of fiction or nonfiction in one given year and then discussing it in book groups and at events throughout the city. 

This year’s selection, South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Princeton University Professor and Birmingham native Imani Perry, is a sprawling and ambitious book that brings together the perspective of a distinguished historian and the personal narrative of a native-born southerner to better understand the beauty, tragedy, and soul of this country.

Teaching artist Brianna Jordynn “B.J.” Wright, along with their co-presenters, will lead attendees though a dynamic session to better understand the selected text, conceptually define slavery to understand the complexities and nuances of its legacy, and utilize library resources to explore family history and heritage. 

Wright is a writer, educator and scholar based in Birmingham, AL. In 2019, she graduated cum laude from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, obtaining her Bachelors of Arts degrees in Anthropology (minor in Women’s Studies) and African American Studies (concentration in Historical Investigation and Cultural Awareness). She is currently pursuing a Masters of Arts degree in Africana Studies from Georgia State University (concentration in Community Empowerment). She takes inspiration from classic scholars such as Dr. W.E.B. Du Boise, Zora Neale Hurston, Harold Cruse, Audrey Lorde, Dr. Huey P. Newton, bell hooks, and Toni Morrison. Her current research interests include, but are not limited to the impact of language policing on Black adolescents, the role of Blackness in comics and anime, and conceptually defining the Master’s House."

 Ashley M Jones, poet laureate of Alabama and co-chapter leader of PEN Birmingham, said: “By reading one book of fiction or nonfiction in one given year and then discussing it in book groups and at events throughout the city, our goal is to build community, boost literary and civic engagement, and promote greater understanding of underrepresented perspectives. We are so thrilled to begin this journey with Imani Perry’s insightful book that relies on her extraordinary scholarship, depth of knowledge, and her personal experience growing up in Birmingham. Birmingham is a magical place for so many reasons, and this program aims to celebrate that magic!”

Perry said: “I’m thrilled that PEN America’s Birmingham chapter is raising up South to America as a collective reading experience across the city. The stories of Birmingham, the city of my birth, and the broader Southern region, are essential for understanding our country and necessary for creating a future in which all people, regardless of station, identity or personal history, are respected and cherished as members of the beloved human community. I believe the stories we share from the past give us hope for creating a better world in the future. And I can’t wait to be with my people come February!” 

During Black History Month on February 1, 2023, the Birmingham Reads project will feature a conversation with Professor and author Perry at Miles College.