The African American Read-In is a chance to connect with others around what you're reading, learn about new-to-you authors and highlight Black stories and experiences. Learn about the writing and publishing process and hear brief readings from two local writers, followed by audience questions and a raffle drawing for new books by Black authors (including our panelists!).
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Noni Ervin - Noni Ervin is practically a Pacific Northwest native. Her parents moved to the Greater Seattle area when she was a baby and as a young student, she found success in writing. It wasn’t until adulthood that the enjoyment of writing began and her first publication was born. Verbatim: Living, Loving, Surviving was necessary because everyone has a story to tell, and she has committed her actions in life to speak up for those who have no voice or who cannot speak up for themselves. In fact, this passion is how the Kinara Park Kids ® mini-series was created. It was an effort to create positive images of young Black / African-American children by incorporating the seven principles of Kwanzaa. We want our young people to see positive images of themselves. Write daily.
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Jeffrey Lee Cheatham II - Jeffrey Lee Cheatham II’s passion for storytelling was evident from his days as a student at Seattle’s John Muir Elementary School, where every written assignment he submitted was in the form of a story or comic. From that point on, he has been a passionate and ardent supporter of all things literary, even going so far as to co-produce Seattle’s first-ever record-breaking Urban Book Expo. A single dad, Cheatham currently lives in Seattle with his 8-year-old daughter, Josilyn, Future Writer and President of Cheatham Publishing, Inc. Learn about his work at https://jeffcheatham2.com.
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Facilitated by Parable Bookstore. Parable is a community space selling books, plants, records, artisan products, and art in the McKinley neighborhood of Tacoma. It is a family-owned, community-owned, lgbtq-owned, Black-owned, woman-owned business that opened in August of 2021. For more information, visit www.parabletacoma.com.
The African American Read In is a national initiative started by the National Council of Teachers of English to encourage communities to center literature by Black authors and celebrate reading together. You can learn more about the initiative at https://ncte.org/get-involved/african-american-read-in/.
How do Zoom programs work?
- Register for the program. Take care entering your email address properly.
- You will immediately receive an email including the Zoom link from donotreply@mylocallibrary.info. If you do not receive this link within an hour, contact us at VirtualPCLS@pcls.us
- When the Zoom program is scheduled to begin, log in and enjoy the program. If you have any problems logging in, contact us at VirtualPCLS@pcls.us
Other Zoom Info
- The Pierce County Library recommends using the latest version of Zoom, with all current updates. Check for the latest version by clicking here.
- The Library System expects that all participants in Library virtual events and classes follow the Library Rules of Conduct. If an individual does not follow the Rules of Conduct, the library has the right to ask that individual to leave the virtual program.
- If you have registered for the event and are having trouble accessing the event, please email VirtualPCLS@pcls.us.
Public Notice & Disclaimer
During this program, you may be using a third-party platform, Zoom, for the purpose of communication, collaboration, projects, etc. This service may collect some personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy, which can be found here: Zoom Privacy Policy.
