Book Club Discussion: The Warmth of Other Suns, Week 4

By Mónica Novoa on Wed, Feb 29, 2012

Welcome to the book club discussion of The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson, brought to you by Drop the I-Word and Black Alliance for Just Immigration. For the past four Wednesdays we have posted questions on the Drop the I-Word blog to help structure and deconstruct the reading, and encourage readers to join in the discussion on Facebook. We have one week left! You can join in at any time by checking out our reading plan and discussion guide.

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The Warmth of Other Suns: Discussion Week 4 (page 332-431)

This week's reading we learned more about Ida Mae, George and Robert's lives in the North with more context on the politics and movements they witnessed in the years of the Great Migration. We held our breath as Ida Mae Gladney risked her safety as a domestic worker and learned her family later witnessed white flight in the South Side of Chicago. We saw George Starling turn his indignation into action, raising money in the North to help rebuild burned churches in the South in the early 60s. And we saw Dr. Robert P. Foster's hard work pay off with a celebration he'd remember his whole life.

This storytelling makes it possible for us to know how people were directly impacted in their everyday lives at a time when the U.S. had to face race and a growing identity crisis. These stories are gifts.

Just a reminder, we have one week left to go and will have our final discussion on March 7th. Join us in discussing the following questions on the Drop the I-Word Facebook page.

Discussion Questions:

Why were northern working-class whites so hostile to Black migrants?
What is the comparison between Jim Crow racism and contemporary racism? What has changed and what hasnʼt? What does this mean for society?

We want to hear from you! Join the discussion in the comments of the Drop the I-Word Facebook page. Be sure to Like us at Facebook.com/droptheiword so you can follow allong!

NEXT WEEK: Week 5, Feb 29 - Mar 6: Read pp. 432-549