One Book | One Minnesota is a statewide book club that invites Minnesotans of all ages to read a common title and come together virtually to enjoy, reflect, and discuss.

Libraries are essential for connection, and through One Book | One Minnesota, libraries across the state will connect their communities through stories. The program aims to bring Minnesotans closer together during this time of distance and adversity.

The second chapter of One Book | One Minnesota. When we started this program two months ago with Because of Winn-Dixie, it was in response to the isolation and resource gaps created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our desire was to bring Minnesotans together to share in the collective joy of reading and come together as a virtual community.

Since then, the Minneapolis police murdered George Floyd, and led by Black community members and activists, the world erupted in grief, protest, and perhaps finally a reckoning that we must confront institutional and systemic racism – and that means all of us. Reading this book in community offers some Minnesotans the opportunity to see their experiences broadly shared and others a chance to educate themselves—and to discover ways to act on their convictions.

We are fortunate that Minnesota is home to many talented writers whose work can inform and guide us on this journey. In 2016, the Minnesota Historical Society Press published a series of essays by Native writers and writers of color in Minnesota entitled A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota, edited by Sun Yung Shin. We are grateful and proud to bring this book forward for the second chapter of One Book | One Minnesota.Minnesota, let’s read together.

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