There’s something unique and interesting happening in Williamsburg during February, and I want to tell you about it today.
The Williamsburg Regional Library and the William & Mary Libraries are partners for One Book One Community, an annual event that encourages the community to come together to have a shared reading experience. This is the fourth year that the libraries have participated in this program. Each year, they select a book that they believe will interest all communities in Williamsburg. Here are the books they’ve chosen each year:
2020 --- There There by Tommy Orange. This book, which was the freshman common book the previous year for William & Mary, traces generations of Native Americans living in Oakland, California and deals with the issues of Native Americans in living in cities. I had to look up what a “freshman common book” was, and discovered that, beginning in 2015, the college sent out a copy of a selected book — the “common book” — to all incoming freshmen, and then used content from the book to structure freshmen orientation and other programs offered to new students. I like this idea.
2021 – Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. The book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas--and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.
2022 – Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg. The book explores how shared spaces can positively impact society. In his book, the author reminds us that democracy is fortified by people coexisting together in public and that public spaces can produce community, belonging, and unity.
The book chosen for 2023 is The New American by Micheline Aharonian Marcom. According to Kirkus Reviews, This “harrowing, heartbreaking story” depicts the epic journey of a young Guatemalan American college student, a “dreamer,” who gets deported and decides to make his way back home to California.
Inspired in part by interviews with Central American refugees, and told in lyrical prose, Micheline Aharonian Marcom weaves a “powerful, heartbreaking” (Publishers Weekly) tale of adventure. In The New American, Marcom “depicts inhumanity with visceral force, but her bracing empathy (and hope) shines above all” (Entertainment Weekly). This is a compassionate story of one young man who risks so much to return home.
The thing that is interesting about this program is that events are scheduled throughout the month of February to bring together members of the community to focus on the themes of the selected book. Here’s what’s happening over the next few weeks:
Stacy Kern-Scheerer Discussion
February 1, 6:30 pm – Williamsburg Library & Online
Stacy Kern-Scheerer, Director of the William & Mary Law School’s Immigration Clinic, will talk about the people she serves and the state of immigration law.
One Book One Community Book Discussion
February 2, 10:30 am – James City County Library & Online
Join us for a Book Discussion, in-person in the Cosby Room of the James City County Library, or virtually on Zoom.
Art House Cafe Film: La Misma Lune (Under the Same Moon)
February 7, 2 pm – Williamsburg Library
When his grandmother dies, a child leaves his rural Mexican village and crosses the border into the U.S. in search of his mother, who is living somewhere in Los Angeles. This heartwarming immigration tale from director Patricia Riggen stars Eugenio Derbez and Kate del Castillo. In Spanish with English subtitles. PG-13. 1hr 46min.
One Book One Community Book Discussion
February 8, 10 am – Williamsburg Library & Online
Join us for a Book Discussion, in-person in Room B of the Williamsburg Library, or virtually on Zoom.
Monika Gosin Discussion
February 8, 6:30 pm – Williamsburg Library
Monika Gosin, chair of the Latin American Studies Department at William & Mary, will talk about the politics, economics, and chaos driving immigrants out of Latin America.
Pub Quiz
February 9, 6-8 pm – James City County Library & Online
We’ll provide the food, you provide the answers! Join us for dinner and a quiz on the US Citizenship Test and random bits of US History. Registration required; please call 757.741.3300, option 2 to sign up. Teams of up to 4 individuals can register together or be matched with other players on a new team. Participants can play in person in the Kitzinger Room at the James City County Library or via Zoom.
Special thanks to Friends of WRL Foundation for supporting this program.
One Book One Community Film: Waking Dream
February 11, 10:30 am – Williamsburg Library
This documentary weaves together the stories of six undocumented young people as they sit in limbo between deportation and a path to citizenship after the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) rules is rescinded. NR, 52 minutes.
One Book One Community Book Discussion
February 11, 2 pm – James City County Library & Online
Join us for a Book Discussion, in-person in the Cosby Room of the James City County Library, or virtually on Zoom.
One Book One Community Book Discussion
February 13, 6:45 pm – Williamsburg Library & Online
Join us for a Book Discussion, in-person in Room B of the Williamsburg Library, or virtually on Zoom.
Readers Theater
February 16, 6:30-8 pm – Williamsburg Library
Local actors and readers voice the first-person views of people from around the world, including the US, about immigration and citizenship throughout our history.
Cinema @ Scotland Street: Queen of Glory
February 20, 6 pm – Williamsburg Library
When her mother suddenly dies, the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants must decide between pursuing her education, following her married lover to Ohio, or running her family’s small Christian bookstore in a migrant area of the Bronx. Director Nana Mensah won a Tribeca Film Festival award for this “witty and compassionate love letter to the Bronx.” NR 1hr 18min.
Author Visit: Micheline Aharonian Marcom
February 21, 6:30 pm – Williamsburg Library & Online
Author Micheline Marcom will join us for a reading and discussion February 21 at 6:30 pm in the Williamsburg Library Theatre.
Finding Immigration and Naturalization Records Online
February 23, 2-3:30 pm – Stryker Center
Retrace the path of your ancestors who immigrated to the U.S. We’ll talk about where to look for ships’ passenger lists and immigration and naturalization records, plus why your family name wasn’t changed at Ellis Island! Register by calling 757.741.3300, option 2.
I love this idea as a way to bring communities together. People who participate in these events will know a lot more about the problems associated with the American immigration system at the end of the month than they did at the beginning of the month. I haven’t participated in this program in previous years, but I picked up my copy of this book at the library Monday and I plan to finish reading it over the next couple of days. I plan to attend some of these events, although I haven’t decided which ones yet. There was a notice on the bulletin board in the library entry that they were looking for readers to audition for the “readers’ theater” event on February 16. That might be fun.
You can become part of my virtual community in Williamsburg if you want to. You can buy the book from Amazon or probably from your local bookstore or Barnes and Noble. Many of these activities are offered in hybrid form — both via Zoom and in person — so you could attend remotely. Go to the project website https://www.wrl.org/onebook/ and you’ll get the Zoom links if you want to participate. If you decide to attend any of the Zoom events, let me know — maybe I’ll “see” you there.
In addition, both scheduled movies — Waking Dream and Queen of Glory — are available on a variety of streaming services, including Amazon Prime.
Sounds interesting. I may do this.
almost makes me wish I lived in Williamsburg...especially the Pub Quiz activity. With Tim and Rick (who has his head full of trivia, to the point where no one in the family will play Trivial Pursuit with him) we would SLAY!