Library closed January 19

We will be closed on Monday, January 19 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. No materials will be due.

Community History

Program Type:

Community History
  • Registration is required for this event.
  • Registration will close on February 26, 2026 @ 5:00pm.

Event Details

Join us for our annual Community History Book Club - a community conversation and workshop series.

In past years we read books focused on reparations and equity in education. This year, we are reading Black Folk: the Roots of the Black Working Class by Dr. Blair LM Kelley. We will focus our conversations on the history of labor, centering the experiences of local Black laborers and labor organizers. Our goal is to listen and learn together about how we can learn from the past and from our fellow community members to create a better future. 

Over the course of four weeks, we will bring together community members, scholars, educators, artists, and policymakers to listen and learn from each other. 

Session dates & themes: 

  • Thursday, February 26 – Black Labor Histories: Local Lineages of Struggle
  • Thursday, March 5 - Black Folk with Dr. Blair Kelley
  • Thursday, March 12 - Resistance, Mutual Aid & Collective Power
  • Thursday, March 19 - Imagining the Future of Black Labor in Chapel Hill 

All sessions will be held at Chapel Hill Public Library in Meeting Room B. Events will start at 6 pm, with doors opening at 5:30. 

This series is organized by Danita Mason-Hogans and Dr. Simona Goldin in partnership with Chapel Hill Community History and Bridging the Gap. 

Get the book: We will have a limited number of free copies of the book available at Chapel Hill Public Library beginning in early February. For those who can, please purchase your own copy of the book from Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. 

Register for this event