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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2018
Media Contact: Jill Schacter jschacter@cityofevanston.org
Phone:  847/448-8628

Join EPL and the Evanston Community to Read: Citizen

The Evanston Public Library has chosen Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine as the book for its ten week community reading program, “Evanston Reads,” beginning in February. Multiple book discussions, films, a "human" library, poetry readings, lectures, panels, and gallery tours will all contribute to a comprehensive and creative exploration of Citizen which has won many awards and accolades. It combines lyric prose with internal monologues, visual art, slogans, photographs, quotes, a screen grab from YouTube, and film scripts. The New York Times describes the experience of reading the book "like viewing an experimental film or live performance. One is left with a mix of emotions that linger and wend themselves into the subconscious." It is a touchstone for talking candidly about attitudes and experiences of race.

Events will take place in venues throughout Evanston, kicking off in February with a program facilitated by Alicia Crosby of the Center for Inclusivity. The kickoff event will “unpack” Citizen through conversation, and will feature an interactive panel, group discussion, and time of community reflection to explore the themes of visibility, bias, and belonging that are present in Rankine’s book. The kickoff event will take place Sunday, February 11, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, in the Community Room of the Main Library.

Book discussions of Citizen will take place on a variety of dates at various locations throughout Evanston, including: Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, the Library’s North Branch and Chicago Avenue/Main St. Branch (CAMS), the Main Library, the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center, the YWCA Evanston/Northshore, Ridgeville Community Center, the Evanston History Center, and the Frances Willard House. 

Additional programs will include art displays by students from Chute and Nichols, inspired by the themes in Citizen, screenings of the movies Crown Heights and Whose Streets, and readings from poets including Parneshia Jones, Krista Franklin, Kelly Norman Ellis, and Nate Marshall.  A “Human Library,” will provide opportunity for library patrons "readers" to borrow human “books” for about 20 minutes each for dialogue with those whose experiences are different from their own. A lecture from Kate Masur, Northwestern History Professor, will explore the history of racism in American law.

“This is the third year we’ve worked with various Evanston partners on a community reading program. We’re very pleased to have been chosen for a second year to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support our efforts. Citizen will help us have enlightening discussions and thoughtful exploration,” said Library Director Karen Danczak Lyons. 

Additional book discussion sites and events may be added to those listed below. To view the most current listing of programs, go to epl.org/evanstonreads. 

Book Discussions

*Wednesday, February 21 - 6:30 pm, Fleetwood-Jourdain Center - 1655 Foster Street

Thursday, February 22 - 7:00 pm, North Branch - 2026 Central Street

Wednesday, March 13 - 12:00 pm, Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center - 2100 Ridge Avenue

Wednesday, March 14 - 7:00 pm, Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center - 1823 Church Street

Wednesday, March 21 - 1:30 pm, YWCA Evanston/ North Shore - 1215 Church Street

Wednesday, March 21 - 7:00 pm, Main Library - 1703 Orrington Avenue

Sunday, April 15 - 4:00 pm, Ridgeville Park District - 908 Seward Street

*Tuesday, April 17 - 1:00 pm, Evanston History Center - 225 Greenwood Street

*Thursday, April 19 - 1:00 pm, Frances Willard House - 1730 Chicago Avenue

Monday, April 30 - 7:00 pm, Chicago Ave./Main St. Branch - 900 Chicago Avenue

(*Registration Required for asterisked discussion groups.)

Special Events

February 1st-28th - Middle School Art Display

Stop by the second floor gallery space at the Main Library to see the works of Evanston middle school students, from Chute and Nichols, inspired by the themes in Citizen.

Sunday, February 11th - Kickoff Event – 2:00 pm

“See Me, Protect Me, Include Me: Unpacking Rankine’s Citizen through Conversation”

Join us for an interactive panel, group dialogue, and time of community reflection designed to explore this question and the themes of visibility, bias, and belonging present in Rankine’s groundbreaking text, Citizen: An American Lyric. This program will be facilitated by Alicia Crosby of Center for Inclusivity.

Saturday, March 10th – Whose Streets?  Screening and Discussion – 3:30 pm

This film, told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. Join us following the screening for a discussion.

Monday, March 12th – Evanston/Northwestern Humanities Lecture Series - 7:00 pm

"Police Powers, the Anti-Slavery Movement, and the Origins of the Fourteenth Amendment”

Northwestern history professor, Kate Masur, will present a lecture that explores the history of racism in American law, with an emphasis on antislavery activists’ challenges to discriminatory state laws and the origins of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Monday, March 19th – Nate Marshall Reading and Signing - 7:00 pm

Nate Marshall is from the South Side of Chicago and he will be reading from his book, Wild Hundreds.

Monday, April 2nd – Poetry Readings and Discussion – 7:00 pm

“The Role of the Black Woman Poet as Witness, Healer, and Survivor”

Please join the Evanston Public Library in celebrating National Poetry Month with a reading and conversation with award-winning poets, Parneshia Jones, Krista Franklin, and Kelly Norman Ellis. The poets will read from their works as part of the conversation and have fellowship questions and answer with the  audience followed by a book signing.

Sunday, April 15th – Human Library - 1:00 pm

The Human Library is designed to foster frank conversations between people in a safe, positive environment. Library patrons, as “readers,” borrow human “books” for 20 minutes in a public space mediated by “librarians.” “Books” are community members who share their experiences of prejudice and/or discrimination based on race, religion, sexual preference, class, gender identity, age, lifestyle, disability or another aspect of their lives. “Readers” and “books” engage in a one-on-one dialogue designed to expose people to experiences that are different from their own and to encourage a deeper understanding among members of a community.

Thursday, April 26th – Block Museum of Art Event – 2:00 pm

Join us for a dialogue exploring Claudia Rankine’s Citizen and Hank Willis Thomas: Unbranded, an exhibition at the Block Museum of Art.

Called “America’s Great Protest Artist” by The Guardian, Hank Willis Thomas (American, b. 1976) has consistently explored American consumer culture, particularly as it relates to African-American subjects. His projects often appropriate imagery drawn from advertising campaigns to investigate the subtle and not so subtle ways in which this influential imagery reproduces and reinforces ideas about race and race relations.  This exhibition features selections from two bodies of work, the 2005-08 series Unbranded:  Reflections in Black by Corporate America and the 2015 series Unbranded: A Century of White  Women 1915-2015.  A special guided tour of the exhibition will be followed by a discussion of Citizen.

About the Author of Citizen. Claudia Rankine was born in Jamaica, grew up in Kingston and New York, and teaches at Pomona College. Citizen was a finalist for the National Book Award in poetry and winner of the NAACP Image Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the PEN Open Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award in poetry while at the same time was a finalist for the same award in criticism. It was also named one of the best books of the year by numerous media outlets, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, and Publisher's Weekly.  The Evanston Public Library is a recipient of an NEA Big Read grant to support "Evanston Reads: Citizen". The NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Evanston Public Library is one of 75 nonprofit organizations to receive an NEA Big Read grant to host a community reading program between September 2017 and June 2018. For more information about the NEA Big Read, please visit  http://www.artsmidwest.org/programs/neabigread. The Evanston Public Library thanks our community partners for participating in this year's Evanston Reads program including YWCA Evanston/North Shore, Dear Evanston, Block Museum of Art, Frances Willard House, Evanston History Center, ETHS, District 65, City of Evanston, Ridgeville Park District, and Northwestern University For more information about events or registration, please visit www.epl.org/evanstonreads or call 847-448-8620.

About the Evanston Public Library

For more than 140 years, the Library has provided educational, culturally-rich resources for all residents, helped children prepare for school through the joys of reading and learning, celebrated Evanston’s diversity, and helped residents find information they seek. The Library is more than a building of books; it is a place to meet, connect, learn and explore. To learn more, visit www.epl.org.