InclusiveVT Book Circles
InclusiveVT Book Circles bring small groups together to read and discuss a common book. These books are often written by speakers who are a part of events like InclusiveVT Welcome.
There are multiple ways to engage with InclusiveVT Book Circles. Faculty and staff can join the Canvas PDN course using the link below. If you would like to host an in-person book circle, please contact inclusivevt@vt.edu for a free discussion guide.
Fall 2022
Did you enjoy the InclusiveVT Welcome keynote presentation featuring Judith Heumann? Would you like to learn more about her life? Are you a faculty or staff member interested in learning more about diverse identities and experiences? Join InclusiveVT Book Circles to become part of a community of readers doing just that through books!
The InclusiveVT Book Circles fall selection is “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist” by Judith Heumann with Kristin Joiner.
Here is a description of the book from judithheumann.com
One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human.
A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn’t built for all of us and of one woman’s activism—from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington—Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society.
Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people.
As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in San Francisco as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a governmental building in US history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples’ rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.
There are many ways to participate in InclusiveVT Book Circles, but it starts by joining the course on Canvas PDN using this self enrollment link
The fall book circle begins the week of October 3 and will wrap up December 2.
InclusiveVT Book Circles continues throughout the year with a new book for summer, fall, and spring. Participants can join, leave, and rejoin anytime. Participants earn badges for reading the book and participating in discussions either virtually or in person. The discussion questions prompt the reader to reflect on and apply the text's themes to improve their cultural competency. After earning three book badges, the participant earns an InclusiveVT pathway badge. InclusiveVT badges demonstrate an individual’s continued engagement and learning in alignment with Virginia Tech's strategic commitment to elevate the Ut Prosim difference.
The InclusiveVT Book Circles summer selection is “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist” by Judith Heumann with Kristin Joiner
Here is a description of the book from judithheumann.com
One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human.
A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn’t built for all of us and of one woman’s activism—from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington—Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society.
Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights Being Heumann for disabled people.
As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in San Francisco as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a governmental building in US history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples’ rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.
Cousins
by Betty Kilby Baldwin & Phoebe Kilby
Book Description: Connected through slavery, a Black woman and a White woman discover their past--and each other.
What happens when a White woman, Phoebe, contacts a Black woman, Betty, saying she suspects they are connected through slavery? A surprise. Betty responds, “Hello cousin.”
Open to exploring difficult truths and sharing an admiration for Dr. Martin Luther King, they embark on a path towards reconciliation. Each tells her dramatic story - from Betty’s experience desegregating her county’s only high school to Phoebe’s eventual question to Betty: “How do I begin to repair the harms?”
Piercingly honest. Offers examples of reparations on a personal level.
Faculty and Staff can enroll here:
https://profdev-lms.tlos.vt.edu/enroll/PTGBW3
How To Be An Antiracisit by Ibram Kendi
Take the Justice In June challenge inspired by the events of May 2020 for people who want to be better allies. The challenge offers three learning plans for anyone hoping to spend a month taking a step to “becoming an active ally to the black community.” Choose how much time you have per day — 10, 25 or 45 minutes — and the learning plan tells you what books to read and which media to consume.
The Little Book of Racial Healing, Coming to the Table for Truth-Telling, Liberation, and Transformation, by Thomas Norman DeWolfe and Jodie Geddes.
