By Zoe Howard
Executive Features Editor
Costa English teachers Maddie Hutchinson and Diana Sieker are encouraging themselves and others to become more knowledgeable about racism and inequalities for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in the world.
Hutchinson and Sieker started the Antiracist Book Club in June after the death of George Floyd. At the end of the school year, Sieker put together a list of book recommendations related to race for her students. This led to a conversation between Hutchinson and Sieker about spending time over the summer to self-educate by reading.
“[Hutchinson] and I created this club to motivate ourselves and others to spend the summer learning about the inequities and racism that plague our world in order to be more informed, empathetic, antiracist people, and better allies,” Sieker said. “The goal was to inspire a summer of learning in the hopes that this learning would inspire people to take action toward creating a more inclusive, equitable world within their sphere of influence.”
Hutchinson and Sieker started an Instagram, @abc__antiracist_book_club, for the book club so they could reach a broader audience. Approximately 170 people follow the account where Hutchinson and Sieker post quotes, interviews, podcasts and additional book titles by the authors they are reading.
“We quickly realized that a communal, shared experience would be really powerful and wanted to create something that many could access,” Hutchinson said. “From there, we invited students, friends and family to join, and all of those people were encouraged to invite others as well. Ultimately, the goal was to create a space to celebrate, amplify and explore works written by Black authors with the larger goal of diversifying summer reading and educating ourselves.”
The book club ran for a total of 10 weeks. Hutchinson and Sieker posted a new book recommendation for students, friends and other teachers participating in the book club. Hutchinson and Sieker decided on a total of five books: How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Monster by Walter Dean Myers, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead and Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad.
“I truly loved all of them, but The Nickel Boys is one of the best books I have read in a long time,” Sieker said. “It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year, and [Costa English teacher] Shawn Chen selected it as our AP summer reading book this school year. It is a literary masterpiece with compelling characters and an unforgettable plot.”
According to Sieker, the heartbreaking deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless other BIPOC is a clear call to change this country into a safe, inclusive and equitable place for everyone.
“We can sign petitions, protest and donate, but sometimes it is easy to feel helpless and defeated by the lack of change,” Sieker said. “I asked myself, ‘What can I do within my sphere of influence?’ Since I am a teacher, I can read and learn and inspire others to read and learn. I know it is not the end-all, be-all, but learning is an important first step toward change, and I hope the people who read along this summer feel inspired to take action.”
At the end of the 10 weeks, Hutchinson and Sieker hosted a culminating two-hour Zoom Book Club to discuss their thoughts on the five books that they read and what they learned. A few other Costa English teachers participated as well, including Nicole Wachell, Taylor DiBernardo and Chen.
“Honestly, it was just so nice to sit and talk about literature with others, especially such profound and impactful texts,” Hutchinson said. “It was a small but powerful group of individuals willing to open up and share what they had learned throughout the summer. I was particularly proud of a previous student of mine.”
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