National Reading Circle
In a collaborative effort with the National Arts and Letters Commission of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the National Reading Circle initiative was launched under the auspices of the Center for Research on African American Women (The Center) in the summer of 2009.
The National Reading Circle (NRC) is a collaboration between The Center and the Sorority’s National Commission on Arts and Letters. The NRC is designed to engage women throughout America in reading classic works and scholarly literature by and about women of color. Members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and other women representing diverse backgrounds and professional roles are invited to form a reading circle in their community. The inaugural reading selection was IDA: A Sword Among Lions by Paula J. Giddings (2009–10); followed by The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (2010–11). The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson (2011–12) is the current reading selection.
Members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and other women representing diverse backgrounds and professional roles are invited to form a reading circle in their community.
Objective
The Center is committed to promoting educational endeavors and activism by women of color to advance their communities. There are three major objectives of The Center’s National Reading Circle:
- To educate readers about the important contributions made by African American women
- To support the African American women authors who have written classic work and/or scholarly literature
- To motivate the readers to engage in activism that will create possibilities and improve lives for women and their families
A Reading Guide for the biography, IDA, is available for Reading Circle members. Obtain your copy by clicking here.
A Reading Guide for the 2012 reading selection, Warmth of Other Suns, is available for Reading Circle members. Obtain your copy by clicking here.
For more information contact Deborah Peaks Coleman, Director of Programs
