A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota | 
I am so excited to get to read this. As a white kid who grew up in MN and was best friends with the son of African immigrants and the son of Asian immigrants starting in preschool, but also the niece and cousin of some MN racists (unfortunately), I‘m hoping this brings these two realities together for me. I‘m gutted to just now discover this was a state wide read this past summer.
#SunYungShin #AGoodTimeForTheTruth
pick6: This was our One Book | One Minnesota Read this summer. I also loved the author talk/conversation which is still viewable on the Friends of the SPPL YouTube channel.
#12booksof2020 @Andrew65
Our One Book | One Minnesota statewide book club read this summer.
A history of racism in Minnesota told through essays by various authors. I somehow ordered two copies 🤷🏻♀️ “...there‘s a stark, simple equation at work here: if you fail to value a people‘s stories, you fail to value them.” David Lawrence Grant
Oof. This year was a blur. Between losing my grandma, buying her house, starting school and averaging 60 hour work weeks, it‘s been a struggle getting any fun reading time in. I‘ve just been so exhausted. I have the next 11 days off for the holidays and I plan on spending it trying to finish all the books I‘ve started.
And the homework reading begins. I‘m loving this collection of essays I get to read for my Creative Writing class though.
pickThis anthology of essays written by people of color about race in MN is excellent. The essays are short, engaging, informative & full of history, politics, and memoir. Nor is it relevant to MN only, it would be enlightening for anyone interested in racial & cultural dynamics in America.
The cat pic is completely gratuitous. He jumped in the box as soon as book mail was unpacked!
Part I
If you live in the upper Midwest, you'll likely recognize David Mura's points.
The fear & emotional struggle of mothers & fathers protecting brown children is real. The first essay is resonating!
This arrived for breakfast. 😁 Doesn't fit MN hotdish persona.
pick#bookclubread Writers of color take on the topic of race in Minnesota. Lots of good stuff here. Diane Wilson kills it on the final essay talking about how white people stripped the land of the variety of plants (which also led to poor health). She's bringing Native American plants back through Dream of Wild Health, an organic farm which grows from heirloom Native American seeds.
"You hold in your hand a book of visions. Memories. True stories. Shock. Grief. Dreams. Activism. Recognition. A call for us to listen and learn about one another's real lives in Minnesota." Really looking forward to this book club pick!
I have had so much fun going through the #getindie book store posts! I finally got a chance to get a pic of my local indie shop. Lake Country Booksellers in White Bear Lake is just a little pocket of a shop ( downstairs only) but they always seem to have what I go in to find. Best of all, it's close enough that I can walk there in a snowstorm...should a book emergency come up. ❄️🌨🌬☃
pickPowerful. Essential. Eye-opening. And incredibly well done. This book should be a must read not only for every one of my fellow Minnesotans but also for anyone who's looking to educate themselves further on racial relations across the country.
"Truly welcoming weary strangers into your company" (community or life or ...) "means, first, learning something about their story" - David Lawrence Grant
This feels like an important book. Granted all of the essays in this anthology are written by and about lives in MN but the stories ( and the racism these writers talk about) transfers anywhere. Went to a discussion led by Sun Yung Shin tonight at the library. Only wish there had been more time.
pickI like to think I'm an open-minded liberal, but this book still helped me understand the experiences of non-white people in my home state. You'll never think the same about MN Nice after reading this eye-opening book!
This quote really spoke to me as a parent. I often feel like each thing I'm doing is either wrong or right, not just doing and living.
This book is still resonating with me so much. I don't want to put it down yet I have to take breaks because it's just so raw. I spent this morning blogging, thinking, and checking my mental health. Read my post: https://litluminaries.wordpress.com/2016/07/17/books-the-literary-community-as-h...
This first chapter was gut wrenching. "The Fear of a Black Mother." Absolutely but so unnecessarily relevant (meaning since this book's publication this spring. there are more names added to list of those needing justice). #blacklivesmatter
Belatedly getting to this book after it's been tugging on my heartstrings since before it came out. Only in the intro so far but everyone MN needs to read this! For readers that's not so hard to do. Event discussion w/ editor Sun Yung Shin at SubText: A Bookstore 2mrw, July 11 @ 7:00 p.m!
pickMinnesota is not Lake Wobegon. This is a compelling and sobering look at race in MN in particular but also in the US as a whole. Highly recommend.
