TI Study Group on Race in America
Wednesday, Oct. 18, 25, Nov. 8; Dec. 6 from 7:00 ~ 9:00 pm
This study group will explore skin color, identity and race relations in America through contemporary literature and film. This CONECT (Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut) initiative is designed to encourage introspection, analysis and conversation about race in America today.
CONECT is an organization of 15,000 people from nearly 30 religious institutions in Fairfield and New Haven Counties who research, analyze, and articulate a powerful moral voice regarding social, economic, and political issues that affect our member congregations.
Oct. 18
Film: White Like Me
7:00 ~ 9:00 pm
In this film anti-racist educator Tim Wise explores race and racism in the U.S. through the lens of whiteness and white privilege.
Oct. 25
Film: 13th
7:00 ~ 9:30 pm**
This film provides an in-depth look at the prison system in the U.S. and how it reveals the nation’s history of racial inequality. We will screening 13th as well as discussing the book The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander. TI will partner with St. Jerome Church for this event. Click here to register.
Nov. 8
Book: The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander
7:00 ~ 9:00 pm
The New Jim Crow is an account of the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class status. TI will partner with St. Jerome Church for the second part of this book discussion. Click here to register.
Dec. 6
Book: Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
7:00 ~ 9:00 pm
In a series of essays, written as a letter to his son, Coates confronts the notion of race in America and how it has shaped American history, many times at the cost of black bodies and lives. Click here to register.
Please note that copies of each book will be available to check out at the Westport Library beginning Wednesday, Sept. 20. Participants should go to the circulation desk and reference “Temple Israel 2 Books 2 Movies.” The books will also be available for purchase at Barnes & Noble, Westport in mid-September.