Two events will highlight CRP selection

Organizers of the Community Reading Project will host two events this week connected to this year's book selection, "Citizen: An American Lyric," and featuring Todd Robinson.

A campus dialogue is set for Friday, March 25, beginning at noon in the Mary Idema Pew Library, multipurpose room. Robinson, author of "A City Within a City: The Black Freedom Struggle in Grand Rapids," will lead discussion about the types of racial issues addressed in "Citizen" that have shaped West Michigan cities. 

Robinson is an associate professor of history at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and an expert in urban and African American history. Published in 2012, "A City Within a City" focuses on the struggles of school integration and racial inequality in Grand Rapids after World War II and through the civil rights era.

Robinson will be joined by Louis Moore, associate professor of history and coordinator of African and African American Studies. 

Refreshments will be served.

Another CRP discussion is scheduled for Thursday, March 24, in the Kirkhof Center, Pere Marquette Room. This presentation at 11:30 a.m. is in conjunction with the Kutsche Office of Local History's annual roundtable. Robinson will speak about intentional connections to "Citizen."

Also on March 24, Robinson will sign books and lead a community conversation on "A City Within a City" from 6-8 p.m. at the LINC Gallery, 341 Hall St. SE. The event is free and open to the public.

"Citizen: An American Lyric" is by Claudia Rankine. The book recounts racial aggressions, intentional or not, that occur daily to people of color. Critics have said the author weaves a fabric of suburban and urban U.S. life that is almost too much for readers to bear. Rankine will visit campus in April for a presentation.