Empowering Communities Through Dialogue: Join Our Monthly Virtual Book Club to Explore Race, History, and Structural Inequality FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Boston, MA — December 23, 2025 — Dock C. Bracy Center for Human Reconciliation's Reading for Understanding (RFU) , a leading virtual community dedicated to critical education, is proud to announce its 2026 season of virtual book discussions. Marking six years of continuous programming, the 2026 series will feature 12 curated ti

Meeting Date:  Sunday, January 25, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Join RFU’s January discussion of "Fear No Pharaoh." Explore the intersection of American Jewish history and the Civil War. Register on Bookclubs. Book Cover: Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery Book Details Full Title: Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery Author: Richard Kreitner Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Year Published:

Meeting Date:  Sunday, February 22, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Discuss systemic racism and police violence with Jelani Cobb’s edition of the Kerner Commission Report. Book Cover: The Essential Kerner Commission Report Book Details Full Title: The Essential Kerner Commission Report Editor: Jelani Cobb Publisher: Liveright Year Published: 2021 Page Count: 240 pages ISBN-13: 978-1631498923 WorldCat Listing: View on worldcat.org Synopsis This edition of the historic 1968

Meeting Date:  Sunday, March 29, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Explore the role of white women in the American slave economy. Join the March book discussion. Book Cover: They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South Book Details Full Title: They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South Author: Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers Publisher: Yale University Press Year Published: 2019 Page Count: 320 pages ISBN-13: 978-0300251838

Meeting Date:  Sunday, April 26, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Apply military strategy to the Civil Rights Movement with Thomas E. Ricks. Join our April session. Book Cover: Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968 Book Details Full Title: Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968 Author: Thomas E. Ricks Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Year Published: 2022 Page Count: 464 pages ISBN-13: 978-0374

Meeting Date:  May 31, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Confronting the legacy of lynching in the 21st century. Join RFU’s May book discussion. Book Cover: On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the Twenty-First Century Book Details Full Title: On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the Twenty-First Century Author: Sherrilyn A. Ifill Publisher: Beacon Press Year Published: 2018 (Revised Edition) Page Count: 240 pages ISBN-13: 978

Meeting Date:  Sunday, June 28, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Explore the overlooked stories of Black women navigating the American railroad with Miriam Thaggert. Sign up via Bookclubs . Book Cover: Riding Jane Crow: African American Women on the American Railroad Book Details Full Title: Riding Jane Crow: African American Women on the American Railroad Author: Miriam Thaggert Publisher: University of Illinois Press Year Published: 2022 Page Count: 208 pages ISBN-13: 978-

Meeting Date:  Sunday, July 26, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Understand the link between slavery and American capitalism. July RFU book discussion. Sign up via Bookclubs . Book Cover: The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism Book Details Full Title: The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism Author: Edward E. Baptist Publisher: Basic Books Year Published: 2014 Page Count: 528 pages ISBN-13: 978-046504966

Meeting Date:  Sunday, August 30, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Join RFU’s discussion of Kevin Sack’s "Mother Emanuel," a profound history of a pivotal Charleston church and the fight for racial justice. Book Cover: Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church Book Details Full Title: Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church Author: Kevin Sack Publisher: Crown Year Published: 2

Meeting Date:  Sunday, September 27, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Connecting the climate crisis to racial history and the Caribbean. Join our September discussion. Book Cover: Dark Laboratory: On Columbus, the Caribbean, and the Origins of the Climate Book Details Full Title: Dark Laboratory: On Columbus, the Caribbean, and the Origins of the Climate Crisis Author: Tao Leigh Goffe Publisher: Doubleday Year Published: 2025 Page Count: 320 pages ISBN-13: 978-0385549912 Wor

Meeting Date:  Sunday, October 25, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Uncovering the "New Jim Code" and racial bias in automation. October book discussion. Book Cover: The Knowing: Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code Book Details Full Title: Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code Author: Ruha Benjamin Publisher: Polity Year Published: 2019 Page Count: 304 pages ISBN-13: 978-1509526406 WorldCat Listing: View on worldcat.org Sy

Meeting Date:  Sunday, November 29, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET Exploring the systemic oppression of Indigenous peoples through a retelling of Canadian history. Book Cover: The Knowing: The Enduring Legacy of Residential Schools Book Details Full Title: The Knowing: The Enduring Legacy of Residential Schools Author: Tanya Talaga Publisher: HarperCollins Year Published: 2024 Page Count: 480 pages ISBN-13: 978-1443467506 WorldCat Listing: View on worldcat.org Synopsis Ta

Explore the legacy of land theft and the movement for Black land ownership. December RFU session.

Please purchase and read/listen to “Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America” by...

Wednesday, January 24, 2024, 7-9pm EST (UTC-5) The Dock C. Bracy Center’s Reading for Understanding monthly book discussions are free and...

Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 7-9pm EST (UTC-5) The Dock C. Bracy Center’s Reading for Understanding monthly book discussions are free...

Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 7-9pm EDT (UTC-4) The Dock C. Bracy Center’s Reading for Understanding monthly book discussions are free and...

Wednesday, April 24, 2024, 7-9pm EDT (UTC-4) The Dock C. Bracy Center’s Reading for Understanding monthly book discussions are free and...

Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 7-9pm EDT (UTC-4) The Dock C. Bracy Center’s Reading for Understanding monthly book discussions are free and...

Wednesday, June 26, 2024, 7-9pm EDT (UTC-4) The Dock C. Bracy Center’s Reading for Understanding monthly book discussions are free and...