Petaluma resident teams up with nonprofit to build ‘antiracist’ libraries

“Children seeing other children in books that look just like them is a really big deal and it doesn’t always happen,” said Petaluma resident Beth Green.|

After the death of George Floyd prompted months of protests and increased discussion about social justice, Petaluma resident Beth Green was inspired to become involved in bringing more diversity and representation to her own community. And for Green, there’s no better way to do so than with the written word.

In partnership with the Petaluma People Services Center and the Walnut Creek-based nonprofit Rise Up Against Racism, Green is working to bring a pair of “antiracist libraries” to the Petaluma community. The libraries are a part of Rise Up Against Racism’s “Antiracist Book Initiative,” which was created to educate children and families with a wide range of diverse voices. The local libraries are expected to be built by the end of the year or by early January.

“Children seeing other children in books that look just like them is a really big deal and it doesn’t always happen,” Green, who is white, said in a phone interview last week. “And that was the whole idea behind the project, it was just to bring new types of books into communities to help start conversations.”

Those conversations surround the role of race in today’s society. Green said she hadn’t before given deep thought to such discussion, until it came time to answer the questions of her son Teddy, now 10, about what was happening during the 2020 protests, which were sparked by the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was murdered by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

“We knew there was a problem, but I think it’s a lot bigger problem than we were aware of,” Green said. “So I wanted to make sure I was educating myself and also helping others learn.”

That’s when she decided to contribute to such discussion around the Petaluma community, and when Rise Against Racism came under her radar.

Green has known the organization’s co-founder Meg Honey for about 20 years, since the two attended college together at University of the Pacific.

Honey said she is excited about bringing Rise Up Against Racism’s work to Petaluma because the town “has a wonderful history of progressive ideas and a commitment to inclusivity and belonging,” and believes the library will inspire others to make a difference.

“When people - whether that be young people, children or adults - are given the opportunity to see in books nearest to their own lives, but also have the opportunity to step into somebody else’s lived experience, or really critically think about somebody else’s perspective, that is when change happens,” Honey said.

Green, who moved to Petaluma from San Mateo in 2019, was hesitant at first to make her voice known in a new community. But with the help of Rise Up Against racism, she found new motivation to get involved.

“I already had that feeling of being a newcomer,” Green said. “When you’re a newcomer in a new place, it can feel like you’re rubbing people the wrong way. So I kind of stepped away and thought ‘I’m not going to get too deep into this with people while I’m brand new.’ And then I revisited it a full year later (when the protests took flight).”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to make the project possible, and Green has now raised more than $4,000 of her $5,000 goal. Those funds will not only help pay the organization’s commissioned artists to produce the unique library, but will also be used to purchase books for all reading levels from Oakland-based Marcus Books, one of the nation’s first Black-owned bookstores.

Some of the works expected to appear in the new libraries include “Where Are You From?” by Jaime Kim, “The ABCs of Black History,” by Rio Cortez and “All Are Welcome,” by Alexandra Penfold.

“We just feel so fortunate that Marcus Books is right in our collective backyard, and we as an organization absolutely love our partnership with the store,” Honey said.

She added that the store has acted as a hub of community, activism and representation, attracting well-known authors and poets like Toni Morrison and Alice Walker to come speak and sign books while spreading messages of increasing diversity in society.

Rise Up Against Racism, which has built roughly 10 little free libraries throughout the Bay Area, is expected to construct two in Petaluma, including one at the Mentor Me Cavanagh Recreation Center on the west side of town. The other location has yet to be decided.

Elece Hempel, executive director of the Petaluma People Services Center, which heads the Mentor Me program, said the antiracist libraries will present the perfect opportunity to engage the community in a different way.

“As the Cavanagh site starts to open up (as the pandemic allows), we’ll be able to highlight some of the authors and invite our community in to learn more about what the children are sharing, what the mentors are sharing and what the families are sharing on the topics of the books that they’re reading,” Hempel said. “Obviously, it was a no-brainer. Why wouldn’t we want this?”

Green said she hopes that other city residents will get on board with the project, saying that while many greet the project with enthusiasm, she also received some backlash from those who accused her of deeming other free libraries in town as racist. But she said that’s not the case at all, reiterating that the “antiracist” libraries are only a part of an effort to create voices for people of all cultures.

“I hope that people who are defensive about this subject will come look at the library and give it a chance,” Green said. “I’m certain that something there will resonate with them.”

To help

The GoFundMe page for the Antiracist Libraries can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/petalumas-little-free-antiracist-library.

A full list of the books appearing in the libraries can be found at https://ruar.org/antiracist-books.

Amelia Parreira is a staff writer for the Argus-Courier. She can be reached at amelia.parreira@arguscourier.com or 707-521-5208.

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