'Read on!' 

Editor:

I was searching the Humboldt County Library catalogue and I found that all these books are checked out, and all have holds: How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (the library has two copies with seven holds); Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi (one copy, two holds); and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, a young adult book by Jason Reynolds adapted from Kendi's book (one copy, three holds).

This is interest I want to support, so I am thinking I'll buy a copy(ies) — and not from Amazon, but from a local, independent bookstore — to have donated to the library. Or, since the library cannot accept any donations of used books for now, I can donate money specifically for buying new books, via the Humboldt Library Foundation's Buy-a-Book Campaign. I invite others to consider doing the same.

If being an anti-racist interests you, dear reader, here are a few other titles, recommend by the President of the Eureka NAACP: Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad; Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas Blackmon; White Fragility by Dr. Robin DiAngelo; White Rage by Carol Anderson; From Here to Equality by William Darity Jr. and Andrea Kirsten Mullen.

Because learning and reading are required to support democracy, libraries are precious gems for building democracy. Thanks to essential HumLib staff for keeping branches open during shelter in place. Read on!

Black Lives Matter.

Oona Smith, Arcata