Will Reading Make a Person More Empathetic?
According to Jessica Stillman, a contributing writer to INC.com, a recent meta-analysis confirmed what teachers and others have long suspected. Reading a variety of fiction can build empathy. Obviously, reading about people that aren’t like us and situations that are unfamiliar to us help us understand and relate to experiences we have not personally had. Book clubs on Kiawah and around the nation have routinely sought diversity in their book choices.
While not a novel, several Kiawah book clubs have read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. The book opened the eyes of many and has been made into a powerful movie. Stevenson has spoken to audiences across the nation. Other books that highlight the subject of racism and the black experience have been the topic of recent promotions because people are examining their own prejudices and hoping to gain more insight into the current situation. A cousin of mine texted me with the names of four non-fiction books she just ordered, one of them being White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. Book clubs are also reading Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
A recent novel, The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett, has been highly recommended by a new subscriber to the blog. Novels such as Underground Railway by Colson Whitehead and Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult are popular picks. Of course, we have all read books by Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Alice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston. If you or your book club are thinking of exploring any of these books, you will most likely see them prominently displayed in book stores and on book lists. The book world has seen an increase in the numbers of young adult novels and children’s books that explore the theme of racism.
After the Mother Emanuel massacres in Charleston, members of the congregation of Grace Church Cathedral and Mount Zion AME began to meet to discuss race relations. The meetings, led by Ven. Callie Walpole, Subdean from Grace and Rev. Kylon Middleton, senior pastor at Mount Zion, center around the reading and discussion of race-related books. While I am a member of Grace Church, I have only participated minimally in the group. I plan to increase my involvement when things get ‘back to normal.’ If you are interested in reading about the group and its journey, click on the link to this article.