On September 22, 2021, at 7:00PM, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, Massachusetts Center for the Book, and libraries across the Commonwealth will be hosting a statewide Watch Party and Conversation in collaboration with the Library of Congress and National Book Festival 2021.

The event features Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson, author of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, in a video recorded for National Book Festival discussing the book.

After the video, there will be a conversation facilitated by former Massachusetts Representative and legendary civil rights advocate Byron Rushing, a strong library advocate, & Professor Roopika Risam, noted scholar in Public Humanities and African diaspora and Indigenous Studies at Salem State University and recipient of the first Civil Liberties Champion Award from Massachusetts Library Association. 

Register for the Event

RESOURCES

You may participate fully in this conversation without having read Caste in its entirety. For background, you may wish to consult the information below: 

• Isabel Wilkerson’s summary of the argument in Caste: “America’s Enduring Caste System,” by Isabel Wilkerson, New York Times Magazine, July 1, 2020

• Penguin Random House/Oprah Book Club Reading Guide for Caste 

• Caste borrowing info in Massachusetts Library Network catalogs

• Large-print, braille, & talking book editions of Caste via Perkins Talking Book Library & Worcester Talking Book Library

Library Co-Sponsors: Beaman Memorial Library, Beverly Public Library, Blanding Free Public Library, Boxford Town Library, Cary Library Lexington, Chelmsford Pubic Library, Dover Town Library, Duxbury Free Library, Eastham Public Library, Falmouth Public Library, Fitchburg Public Library, Forbes Library Northampton, Freel Library MCLA, Grace Hall Memorial Library Montgomery, Grafton Public Library, Greenfield Public Library, Groton Public Library, Haverhill Public Library, Holyoke Public Library,  Lincoln Public Library, Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library, Mansfield Public Library, Mashpee Public Library, Maynard Public Library, Memorial Hall Library, Needham Free Public Library, Nevins Memorial Library, Newbury Town Library, Newton Free Library, Palmer Public Library, Parker Memorial Library, Peabody Institute Library Danvers, Plymouth Public Library, Provincetown Public Library, Public Library of Brookline, Randall Library, Revere Public Library, Salem Athenaeum, Salisbury Public Library, Southborough Library, Springfield City Library, State Library of Massachusetts, Stevens Memorial Library North Andover, Sunderland Public Library, Tewksbury Public Library, Thayer Public Library, Townsend Public Library, Uxbridge Free Public Library, Wayland Free Public Library, Woburn Public Library, Woods Hole Public Library, Woods Memorial Library Barre   

YOUR LIBRARY

Choose a library near you to find hours, directions, your catalog, and more local resources.
Enter a library name, part of a name, or a city or town in Massachusetts (e.g., Forbes Library or Northampton) or a zip code.

FIND BOOKS, MUSIC, & DVDS

Find a local Massachusetts library. Search its catalog for materials that you can check out immediately.

Can't find it?

Search over 50 million items in the statewide Commonwealth Catalog

If you find an item you want to borrow, just make a request and it'll be delivered to your home library in a few days.