Speaking Down Barriers
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Reading for Transformation

Join the Speaking Down Barriers team and engage readings that will guide us towards a holistic understanding of the transformation that must take place within ourselves and the world around us.  We are working towards the dismantling of the barriers that continue to perpetuate violence, hate, and division.  These various insights will broaden our perspective and lead us towards meaningful confrontation.  You are welcome to grow with us.

We are currently planning to holding these meetings in person and virtually on Zoom at two separate times: 12:00pm-1:00pm and 7:00pm-8:00pm.  Keep an eye on our social media platforms and on your email inbox for updates on in person locations. You can use the following link to register if you plan to attend virtually. There is no need to register if you plan to attend in person. 


linktr.ee/SpeakingDownBarriers

If you would like to purchase any of the books on our reading list, you can support local business by Shopping the Bookshop at hubcity.org and Beyond This February Bookshop.

​We look forward to you joining us for these exciting reads!

2023 BOOK LIST

January: 
"Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto" by Tricia Hersey

February:

"If They Come in the Morning...Voices of Resistance" edited by Angela Davis

March:
"Yearning" by bell hooks

April:
"america, Mine" by Sasha Banks 


May: 
"Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement" edited by Ejeris Dixon and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samasinha 

June: 
"The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our Nation's Upheaval and Racial Reckoning"
by Resma Menakem


July: No Book


August: 

"All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson


September: 

"Under the Feet of Jesus" by Helena Maria Viramontes


October:
 
"Fables and Spells" by Adrienne Maree Brown


November: 

"Measure of Belonging: Twenty-One Writers of Color on the New American South" edited by Cinelle Barnes


December: No Book




​2022 BOOK LIST


January: 
"The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together" by Heather McGhee

February:

"We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice (Abolitionist Papers)" by Mariame Kaba

March:
"Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot" by Mikki Kendall

April:
"Grievers (Black Dawn Series)" by Adrienne Marie Brown 


May: 
"The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness" 
by Rhonda V. Magee


June: 

"Reparations Now!" by Ashley Jones


July: No Book


August: 

"No Justice in the Shadows: How America Criminalizes Immigrants" by Alina Das


September: 

"Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity: The Keys to Successful Equity Implementation" by Krownapple and Cobb


October:
 

"Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States" by Joey L. Mogul, Andrea J. Ritchie,
et al.


November: 

"When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry" edited by LeAnne Howe, Jennifer Elise Foerster, Joy Harjo


December: No Book






2021 BOOK LIST

January:
"Frederick Douglass Prophet of Freedom" by David Blight

February:
"Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the 21st Century" by Barbara Ransberry

March:
"The Feminist War on Crime: The Unexpected Role of Women's Liberation in Mass Incarceration" by Aya Gruber

April:
"Parable of the Talents" by Octavia Butler

May:
"Citizen" by Claudia Rankine

June:
"Dark Testament and Other Poems" by Pauli Murray

July: No Book

August:

"Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America" by Maria Hinojosa

September:
"Incendiary Art" by Patricia Smith

October:
"Nobody Passes Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity" by Matt Berns Sycamore

November:
"An Indigenous People's History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar

December: No Book

2020 Book List

January:
"Systems Thinking for Social Change" by David Stroh

February:
“White Fragility: Why it's so hard for White people to talk about racism” by Robin DiAngelo and Michael Eric Dyson

March:
“Tell Me How It Ends” by Valeria Luiselli

April:
“Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America” by Juan Gonzalez

May:
“The Four Agreements: A practical guide to Personal Freedom” by Don Miguel Ruiz

June:
“I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin's Life in Letters” by Bayard Rustin

July:
No book

August:
“Women Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros

September:

“dark // thing” by Ashley M. Jones

October:
“Real Queer Identity: LGBT Stories From Red States” by Samantha Allen

November:
“The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism” by Jemar Tisby

December:
No book


2019 Book List

January:
"Children of the Days: A Calendar of Human History" by Eduardo Galeano

February:
"My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma & the Mending of Our Bodies" by Resmaa Menakem

March:
"Bad Feminist" by Roxane Gay

April:
"Human Hours" by Catherine Barnett

May:
"White Tears" by Hari Kunzru

June:
"Rainbow In The Word: LGBTQ Christians’ Biblical Memoirs"

July:
No Book

August:
"Solace: Writing, Refuge, and LGBTQ Women of Color" edited by S. Andrea Allen & Lauren Cherelle

September:
"Heavy" by Kiese Laymon

October:
"Devotions" by Mary Oliver

November:
"When I Grow Up I Want To Be a List of Further Possibilities" by Chen Chen

December:
No Book

2018 Book List

January:
“The Crossroads of Should & Must” by Elle Luna

February:
"Everyday Bias" by Howard Ross

March:
“Woman, Native, Other" by Trinh T. Minh-ha

April:
“[insert] boy” by Danez Smith (Live Performances available online)
"The Body Is Not An Apology" by Sonya Renee Taylor

May:
“Emergent Strategy” by Adrienne Marie Brown
"Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Black Self-Determination in Jackson, Mississippi" by Kali Akuno & Ajamu Nangwaya

June:
“Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin

July:
No meeting

August:
 "Mindful of Race" by Ruth King
​
September:
“Ceremony” by Leslie Marmon Silko

October:
“Love beyond Body, Space, and Time: An Indigenous LGBT Sci-Fi Anthology” by Hope Nicholson, David Alexander Robertson, Richard Van Camp, & more

November:
“Dear Universe: Letters of Affirmation & Empowerment for All of Us” by Yolo Akili

December:
No meeting

2017 Book List

January:
"Freedom is a Constant Struggle" by Angela Davis

February:
"Parable of the Talents" by Octavia Butler

March:

"Intersectionality" by Patricia Hill-Collins and Sirma Bilge
​
April:

"The Rose That Grew from Concrete" by Tupac Shakur

May:
"No One is Illegal: Fighting Racism & State Violence on the US-Mexico Border" by Justin Akers Chacón and Mike Davis

June:
"Black Elk Speaks" by Black Elk and John Neidhardt

July:
"American Primitive" by Mary Oliver

August:
"Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, & Liberation" by Angel Kyodo Williams, Lama Rod, and Jasmine Syedullah

September:
"Canto General" by Pablo Neruda

October:
Playlist of Protest Jazz by Revive Music via http://bit.ly/protestjazz

November:
"Black Unicorn" by Audre Lorde

January 2017
"The Crossroads of Should and Must" by Elle Luna

​

2016 Book List

JANUARY:
"Between the World & Me" by Ta-Nahisi Coates
​
FEBRUARY:
"The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander

MARCH:
"Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black" by bell hooks

APRIL:
"Sister Outsider" by Audre Lorde

MAY:
"Fields of Blood" by Karen Armstrong

JUNE:
"The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods" by Peter Block & John McKnight

JULY:
"Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

AUGUST:
"Medical Apartheid" by Harriett Washington

SEPTEMBER:
"The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin

OCTOBER:
"Eichmann in Jerusalem" by Hannah Arendt

NOVEMBER:
"Living Buddha, Living Christ" by Thich Nhat Hanh

DECEMBER:
"What To Do When It's Your Turn" by Seth Godin
Post Office Box 7133, Spartanburg, SC 29304 | ​info@speakdownbarriers.org | 803-526-7496
© 2017 Speaking Down Barriers. All rights reserved.
​Speaking Down Barriers is a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization.

  • Home
  • Writers Well
  • About Us
    • Our Beginnings
    • Stories from the Margins
    • Our Offerings >
      • Conflict Coaching and Mediation
      • Equity: BD&I Training
      • Community Events
      • Schedule of Events
      • Equity School
      • Trainings
      • Reading for Transformation for Kids (R4T4K)
      • #SDBSquad National Network
    • SDB Merch
    • SDB Artist Spotlight
    • FUEL THE WORK
    • Contact Us
  • Event Registration
  • Megaphones