Rising and Resisting in Minneapolis

Some of ICE has left Minneapolis, not all if it.

Consequently, not much has changed. The media has also left, leaving us to think that things are calmer up there. But that’s not the case.

Many residents in Minneapolis are still afraid to leave their homes because ICE is still present. Marginalized people up there still need us, as do community members who are getting out and doing some of the good work that Shannon Gibney recently wrote about. 

To provide some assistance to that community, many of the marginalized creators who contributed to the best-selling anthology We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices (Penguin Random House, 2018), will be part of a live, virtual event for students in Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN. and beyond that shares messages of hope, resilience, and activism. It also serves as a reminder of the power and endurance of youth literature and its community of creators. You are invited to join and share your support as well.

Among the authors who will participate in the virtual event are Tameka Fryer Brown, Sharon M. Draper, Sharon Flake, Rita Williams-Garcia, Margarita Engle, Kelly Starling Lyons, Tony Medina, Ellen Oh, and Jacqueline Woodson, along with editors Cheryl Willis Hudson, and Wade Hudson.

600 copies of We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices are being donated courtesy of Penguin Random House,and will be distributed to students and libraries in the Twin cities prior to the event.

The event is hosted by PEN America with support from Penguin Random House, The Children’s Book Council, The Authors Guild, The Brown Bookshelf, Red Balloon Bookshop (located in St. Paul, MN), AMAZEworks (an education partner),  Hennepin County Public Library, and St. Paul Public Library.

The free, online event takes place on Monday 10 March at 11 am ET. Prior registration is required.

Register here.

I hope to see you there!

Be well and do good.

Filed under: Communities & Outreach, Creators, Libraries & Schools, Uncategorized