Do Book Clubs Have a Role in Social Movements?

Like many influential social movements, horrific numerous incidents continue to spark protests and Black Lives Matter demonstrations. This movement not only calls for justice for victims of police brutality, it calls for the reworking of entire racist systems. As Jody David Armour, a law professor who studies the intersection of race and the criminal justice system, shared on NPR’s All Things Considered, supporters want a “serious reckoning with racial injustice.”

But will change really come?

If history has proven anything, it’s that change is hard won. Lasting change requires not just outrage: it needs a shift in the way that people think. It takes re-education, it takes accountability, and it takes a community learning together.

Here’s where books clubs become relevant.

Historically, publishing has been an important tool in rallying a community together and disseminating information. Social movements will often make their own press — The National Women’s Publishing Company, supporting women’s suffrage, for example. In the 60s, Liberator Magazine, representing the African American political left, provided a place for scholars and political leaders to share their ideas and debate with each other.

Today, we see even large publishers getting on board with the current movement. Organizations such as the Cambridge University Press are stepping up at such a time as this, providing, for a time, free access to their collection of articles and books on topics of racism, discrimination and injustice. By offering public access to these books, they’re trying to do their part.

Perhaps even more telling, the public is recognizing the importance of reading literature by thought leaders of color. As protests continue, bestseller lists reflect a sudden increase in interest in the Black experience and systemic racism. Black American authors, including Ijeoma Oluo (So You Want To Talk About Race) as well as British authors of color, including Bernardine Evaristo (Girl, Woman, Other) and Reni Eddo-Lodge (Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race), fill bestseller lists. Books which came out years ago, such as Michelle Alexander’s 2010 book The New Jim Crow, suddenly take center stage.

But it’s going to take more than reading to shift society. Change hardly ever happens in isolation: individuals need support and accountability. People need communities to help sort through ideas, challenge assumptions, and integrate practices.

If you ask us, it sounds like people need something like a book club.

There’s a long way yet to go before society dismantles systemic racism. And the book industry is not immune to racism: Eddo-Lodge poignantly commented on the fact that she was the first black British author to top the overall UK book chart, saying, “I can’t just uncritically celebrate breaking a barrier without asking why the hell the barriers were there in the first place.” When we consider the books the public has access to and the books that make the headlines, we realize these structures are systemically flawed, too. They are just more examples of why we desperately need change.

Without the well-researched books by thought-leaders on these topics, and without community support and engagement, we cannot make lasting change in ourselves, and “change” will only be skin deep. So where do we go from here? At Copper, we believe reading and discussing together is a small but significant first step.

Are you in?