Douglass Library’s New Book Club

After a year of closure and $2.15 million in renovations, North Lawndale’s local library has reopened.

The Douglass Branch Library, famously named after Frederick Douglass, used to welcome in readers from the neighborhood with pride. But in 2017, the community noticed that the library was beginning to fall apart. Community members pushed for its redesign after the library suffered a safety issue due to its ongoing deterioration.

Image Via Free Spirit Media

There was a lot to be done in order to make sure the space was usable “for people to come together to collaborate, work on homework, read, learn and access digital technology.” The former Mayer Rahm Emanuel approved renovations to begin in July 2018 with a promise of a play space for children, media productions for teens, brand new basement auditorium, updated technology and repairs to the deterioration.

Along with its new renovations, the Douglass Branch Library has created the very first book club that focuses on the uplifting of black culture through Afrocentric science fiction. Afrocentric science fiction had served as a way to invite black readers to see their cultures and traditions shifted into the predominantly white narratives of sci-fi.

Image Via Amazon

The book club intends to showcase black literature from the library’s African American heritage section. How Long ‘til Black Future Month? is at the top of the book club’s reading list, with its author N.K. Jemisin as the first black author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel since 2016. “The book is a collection of short stories on parasitic alien invasions, hoodoo (folk magic) in the Civil Rights era and 20 other worlds built around technology, science and fantasy injected into black histories and futures.”

The first book club meeting is Jan. 29^th at the Lagunitas Taproom so that the club members can meet and unwind with food and drinks.

Featured Image Via lettersandscience.ucdavis.edu