ARRK – March 2022 Discussion

ARRK March 2022 Discussion with Amelia Katanski

Participants restricted to Kalamazoo College Faculty, Staff, Students, and Administration

A discussion surrounding the concept of how settler colonialism interacts with–and potentially adds complexity to–the way we think of antiracism work.

4:10 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15th
ARRK Meeting Space (MS Teams)
Discussion Leader: Amelia Katanski

Amelia Katanski will be leading the March ARRK discussion surrounding the concept of settler colonialism interacts with–and potentially adds complexity to–the way we think of antiracism work. We’ll begin the discussion with the first 16 pages of Daniel Heath Justice’s, Why Indigenous Literatures Matter (visit the ARRK Meeting Space for a downloadable PDF of the intro) and/or the 7 minute video, What is Settler Colonialism?


The AntiRacism Reading Knook (ARRK) is a collaboration between the K College library staff and our Inclusive Excellence (KCIE) leadership team. This initiative is NOT a book club, but seeks to facilitate campus-wide engagement with the books in the KCIE Reading for Change book collection. This collection was created to encourage learning about and facilitate greater access to antiracism information to all members of the campus community.

ARRK aims to:

  1. reduce barrier to entry into reading antiracism books,
  2. identify and highlight campus facilitators with experience teaching and/or disciplinary expertise who can provide context and guide discussions of specific texts,
  3. foster broader relationships among faculty and staff, and thus
  4. build greater capacity for an inclusive campus through sustained and focused engagement with shared texts.
  5. help catalyze members of the campus to engage in small group discussions of entire books in the collection (self-organized book clubs, if you will).

For further information on #ARRK see the KCIE AntiRacism Reading Knook page. To volunteer to lead one of these sessions complete the ARRK Discussion Leader application.

ARRK – February 2022 Discussion

ARRK February 2022 Discussion with Alison Geist and Regina Stevens-Truss

Participants restricted to Kalamazoo College Faculty, Staff, Students, and Administration

A discussion on structural and systemic racism as social determinants of health and disease

4:10 p.m. on Tuesday, February 15th
ARRK Meeting space (MS Teams)
Discussion Leaders: Alison Geist and Regina Stevens-Truss


The AntiRacism Reading Knook (ARRK) is a collaboration between the K College library staff and our Inclusive Excellence (KCIE) leadership team. This initiative is NOT a book club, but seeks to facilitate campus-wide engagement with the books in the KCIE Reading for Change book collection. This collection was created to encourage learning about and facilitate greater access to antiracism information to all members of the campus community.

ARRK aims to:

  1. reduce barrier to entry into reading antiracism books,
  2. identify and highlight campus facilitators with experience teaching and/or disciplinary expertise who can provide context and guide discussions of specific texts,
  3. foster broader relationships among faculty and staff, and thus
  4. build greater capacity for an inclusive campus through sustained and focused engagement with shared texts.
  5. help catalyze members of the campus to engage in small group discussions of entire books in the collection (self-organized book clubs, if you will).

For further information on #ARRK see the KCIE AntiRacism Reading Knook page. To volunteer to lead one of these sessions complete the ARRK Discussion Leader application.

ARRK – January 2022 Discussion

ARRK January 2022 Discussion with Chris Ludwa

Participants restricted to Kalamazoo College Faculty, Staff, Students, and Administration

A discussion on Valyn Lyric Turner’s spoken word poem “Race in the Classroom: Seeing Color”

11:30 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. on Tuesday, January 18th
ARRK Meeting space (MS Teams)
Discussion Leader: Chris Ludwa

For January’s ARRK Chris Ludwa will be leading a discussion of Valyn Lyric Turner’s spoken word poem “Race in the Classroom: Seeing Color.” Ludwa used this video in his Social Justice and the Arts course last term and students remarked how much this piece and Ms. Turner’s delivery connected with their experiences of being “seen” and “unseen” at K. We’ll use this short video as a prompt to check in with inclusive practices, successes and challenges at K over the last two years.


The AntiRacism Reading Knook (ARRK) is a collaboration between the K College library staff and our Inclusive Excellence (KCIE) leadership team. This initiative is NOT a book club, but seeks to facilitate campus-wide engagement with the books in the KCIE Reading for Change book collection. This collection was created to encourage learning about and facilitate greater access to antiracism information to all members of the campus community.

ARRK aims to:

  1. reduce barrier to entry into reading antiracism books,
  2. identify and highlight campus facilitators with experience teaching and/or disciplinary expertise who can provide context and guide discussions of specific texts,
  3. foster broader relationships among faculty and staff, and thus
  4. build greater capacity for an inclusive campus through sustained and focused engagement with shared texts.
  5. help catalyze members of the campus to engage in small group discussions of entire books in the collection (self-organized book clubs, if you will).

For further information on #ARRK see the KCIE AntiRacism Reading Knook page. To volunteer to lead one of these sessions complete the ARRK Discussion Leader application.

Final ARRK Discussion for Fall 2021 – Teaching to Transgress

ARRK November 2021 Discussion with Tony Nelson

Participants restricted to Kalamazoo College Faculty, Staff, Students, and Administration

4:10 – 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 16th
ARRK Meeting space (MS Teams)
Discussion Leader: Tony Nelson

For the final ARRK this quarter we’ll be discussing bell hook’s chapter 4 “Paulo Freire” from Teaching to Transgress with Tony Nelson on Tuesday, November 16th at 4:10 p.m.


The AntiRacism Reading Knook (ARRK) is a collaboration between the K College library staff and our Inclusive Excellence (KCIE) leadership team. This initiative is NOT a book club, but seeks to facilitate campus-wide engagement with the books in the KCIE Reading for Change book collection. This collection was created to encourage learning about and facilitate greater access to antiracism information to all members of the campus community.

ARRK aims to:

  1. reduce barrier to entry into reading antiracism books,
  2. identify and highlight campus facilitators with experience teaching and/or disciplinary expertise who can provide context and guide discussions of specific texts,
  3. foster broader relationships among faculty and staff, and thus
  4. build greater capacity for an inclusive campus through sustained and focused engagement with shared texts.
  5. help catalyze members of the campus to engage in small group discussions of entire books in the collection (self-organized book clubs, if you will).

For further information on #ARRK see the KCIE AntiRacism Reading Knook page. To volunteer to lead one of these sessions complete the ARRK Discussion Leader application.

Speak Up, Show Up – ARRK Oct 2021 Discussion

ARRK October 2021 Discussion with Katrina Frank

Participants restricted to Kalamazoo College Faculty, Staff, Students, and Administration

A discussion on acting outwardly as an ally.

4:10 – 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 19th
ARRK Meeting space (MS Teams)
Discussion Leader: Katrina Frank

For October’s Speak Up, Show Up discussion participants will watch and analyze short video clips that show examples of microaggressions, prejudice, and oppression. Participants will also discuss and practice how they can speak up for others in a time of need. See the ARRK Teams Meeting Space for the two short videos (less than five minutes to watch both videos).


The AntiRacism Reading Knook (ARRK) is a collaboration between the K College library staff and our Inclusive Excellence (KCIE) leadership team. This initiative is NOT a book club, but seeks to facilitate campus-wide engagement with the books in the KCIE Reading for Change book collection. This collection was created to encourage learning about and facilitate greater access to antiracism information to all members of the campus community.

ARRK aims to:

  1. reduce barrier to entry into reading antiracism books,
  2. identify and highlight campus facilitators with experience teaching and/or disciplinary expertise who can provide context and guide discussions of specific texts,
  3. foster broader relationships among faculty and staff, and thus
  4. build greater capacity for an inclusive campus through sustained and focused engagement with shared texts.
  5. help catalyze members of the campus to engage in small group discussions of entire books in the collection (self-organized book clubs, if you will).

For further information on #ARRK see the KCIE AntiRacism Reading Knook page. To volunteer to lead one of these sessions complete the ARRK Discussion Leader application.

ARRK – September 2021 Discussion

ARRK September 2021 Discussion with Sarah Lindley

Participants restricted to Kalamazoo College Faculty, Staff, Students, and Administration

A discussion on sections of My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies

4-5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21st
ARRK Meeting space (MS Teams)
Discussion Leader: Sarah Lindley

For September’s ARRK Sarah Lindley leading a discussion of Resma Menakem’s book My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. She will be focusing on the preface through Chapter 1. A PDF of Menakem’s preface and first chapter can be found on the ARRK Teams Meeting Space. Another way to become acquainted with the book is through the On Being podcast episode, Resma Menakem, ‘Notice the Rage; Notice the Silence.’


The AntiRacism Reading Knook (ARRK) is a collaboration between the K College library staff and our Inclusive Excellence (KCIE) leadership team. This initiative is NOT a book club, but seeks to facilitate campus-wide engagement with the books in the KCIE Reading for Change book collection. This collection was created to encourage learning about and facilitate greater access to antiracism information to all members of the campus community.

ARRK aims to:

  1. reduce barrier to entry into reading antiracism books,
  2. identify and highlight campus facilitators with experience teaching and/or disciplinary expertise who can provide context and guide discussions of specific texts,
  3. foster broader relationships among faculty and staff, and thus
  4. build greater capacity for an inclusive campus through sustained and focused engagement with shared texts.
  5. help catalyze members of the campus to engage in small group discussions of entire books in the collection (self-organized book clubs, if you will).

For further information on #ARRK see the KCIE AntiRacism Reading Knook page. To volunteer to lead one of these sessions complete the ARRK Discussion Leader application.

ARRK (AntiRacism Reading KnooK) – June Discussion

ARRK June 2021 Discussion with Elizabeth Manwell

Participants restricted to Kalamazoo College Faculty, Staff, Students, and Administration

A discussion where participants can share and discuss books, movies, podcasts, and music centering Black Joy.

4-5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15th
ARRK Meeting space (MS Teams)
Discussion Leader: Elizabeth Manwell

For June’s ARRK we will be sharing and discussing books, movies, podcasts, music, and more centering Black Joy. The discussion will start with a chapter from Samantha Irby’s We are Never Meeting in Real Life, “The Real Housewives of Kalamazoo” and the first episode of Issa Rae’s web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. A PDF of Irby’s chapter as well as a collaborative spreadsheet for participants to share their recommendations can be found on the ARRK Teams Meeting Space.


The AntiRacism Reading Knook (ARRK) is a collaboration between the K College library staff and our Inclusive Excellence (KCIE) leadership team. This initiative is NOT a book club, but seeks to facilitate campus-wide engagement with the books in the KCIE Reading for Change book collection. This collection was created to encourage learning about and facilitate greater access to antiracism information to all members of the campus community.

ARRK aims to:

  1. reduce barrier to entry into reading antiracism books,
  2. identify and highlight campus facilitators with experience teaching and/or disciplinary expertise who can provide context and guide discussions of specific texts,
  3. foster broader relationships among faculty and staff, and thus
  4. build greater capacity for an inclusive campus through sustained and focused engagement with shared texts.
  5. help catalyze members of the campus to engage in small group discussions of entire books in the collection (self-organized book clubs, if you will).

For further information on #ARRK see the KCIE AntiRacism Reading Knook page. To volunteer to lead one of these sessions complete the ARRK Discussion Leader application.

ARRK (AntiRacism Reading KnooK) – May Discussion

ARRK May 2021 Discussion with Brittany Liu

Discussion of a Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

4-5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18th
ARRK Meeting space (MS Teams)
Discussion Leader: Brittany Liu

For May we will be focusing on “Chapter I: The Rebirth of Caste.” For a PDF of Chapter 1 & the Introduction please visit the ARRK Team Meeting Space or access the reading in the Library’s, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness eBook.


The AntiRacism Reading Knook (ARRK) is a collaboration between the K College library staff and our Inclusive Excellence (KCIE) leadership team. This initiative is NOT a book club, but seeks to facilitate campus-wide engagement with the books in the KCIE Reading for Change book collection. This collection was created to encourage learning about and facilitate greater access to antiracism information to all members of the campus community.

ARRK aims to:

  1. reduce barrier to entry into reading antiracism books,
  2. identify and highlight campus facilitators with experience teaching and/or disciplinary expertise who can provide context and guide discussions of specific texts,
  3. foster broader relationships among faculty and staff, and thus
  4. build greater capacity for an inclusive campus through sustained and focused engagement with shared texts.
  5. help catalyze members of the campus to engage in small group discussions of entire books in the collection (self-organized book clubs, if you will).

For further information on #ARRK see the KCIE AntiRacism Reading Knook page. To volunteer to lead one of these sessions complete the ARRK Discussion Leader application.

ARRK (AntiRacism Reading KnooK) – April Discussion

ARRK April 2021 Discussion with Laura Furge

Discussion of moving from theoretical antiracist discussions to strategies to disrupt white supremacy.

4-5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20th
ARRK Meeting space (MS Teams)
Discussion Leader: Laura Furge

During the discussion we’ll look at the recent case of the Georgetown Professor Fired for Statements About Black Students as well as the article Are You Supporting White Supremacy?


The AntiRacism Reading KnooK (ARRK) is a collaboration between the K College library staff and our Inclusive Excellence (KCIE) leadership team. This initiative is NOT a book club, but seeks to facilitate campus-wide engagement with the books in the KCIE Reading for Change book collection. This collection was created to encourage learning about and facilitate greater access to antiracism information to all members of the campus community.

ARRK aims to:

  1. reduce barrier to entry into reading antiracism books,
  2. identify and highlight campus facilitators with experience teaching and/or disciplinary expertise who can provide context and guide discussions of specific texts,
  3. foster broader relationships among faculty and staff, and thus
  4. build greater capacity for an inclusive campus through sustained and focused engagement with shared texts.
  5. help catalyze members of the campus to engage in small group discussions of entire books in the collection (self-organized book clubs, if you will).

For further information on #ARRK see the KCIE AntiRacism Reading Knook page. To volunteer to lead one of these sessions complete the ARRK Discussion Leader application.

ARRK (AntiRacism Reading KnooK) – March 2021 Discussion

ARRK March 2021 Discussion with the Advancement Division

Discussion of “Chapter 3: Power” from Ibram X. Kendi’s
How to be an Antiracist
4-5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16
ARRK Meeting space (MS Teams)
Discussion Leader: Members of the Advancement Division

Members of the Advancement Division will also share their experience forming a division-wide antiracism book group.

You can read in the library’s How to be an Antiracist eBook or a PDF is available on the ARRK Meeting space.


The AntiRacism Reading KnooK (ARRK) is a collaboration between the K College library staff and our Inclusive Excellence (KCIE) leadership team. This initiative is NOT a book club, but seeks to facilitate campus-wide engagement with the books in the KCIE Reading for Change book collection. This collection was created to encourage learning about and facilitate greater access to antiracism information to all members of the campus community.

ARRK aims to:

  1. reduce barrier to entry into reading antiracism books,
  2. identify and highlight campus facilitators with experience teaching and/or disciplinary expertise who can provide context and guide discussions of specific texts,
  3. foster broader relationships among faculty and staff, and thus
  4. build greater capacity for an inclusive campus through sustained and focused engagement with shared texts.
  5. help catalyze members of the campus to engage in small group discussions of entire books in the collection (self-organized book clubs, if you will).

For further information on #ARRK see the KCIE AntiRacism Reading Knook page. To volunteer to lead one of these sessions complete the ARRK Discussion Leader application.