Austin Channing Brown recently spoke at St. John’s Episcopal Church, so we have selected her book as part

I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness the publisher writes, “Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age 7, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, Austin writes, ‘I had to learn what it means to love blackness,’ a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker and expert who helps organizations practice genuine inclusion.”
You can find copies of the book at the Mahoning (e-book) and Trumbull County libraries, YSU Maag Library via OhioLink, from the publisher, and at the YSU Barnes & Noble.
Food for Thought book discussion will be hosted by our community partner Cultivate Cafe, 901 Elm St., on Wednesday, February 13, from 6:00-7:00 pm. If you would like to order a bite to eat, please arrive well before the counter closes at 6:00. Haven’t read the book yet? No worries. Join us. Here are this series’ upcoming selections by writers who have recently visited the Valley:
March 13 (Novel, Speculative Fiction) Kelly Link | Get in Trouble April 10 (Memoir) Scott Simon | Unforgettable May 15 (Nonfiction) Cokie Roberts | Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation