Ijeoma Oluo to Discuss How Everyday People Can Fight Oppression and Change the World on Friday, Feb. 27 at Langston Seattle
release date: February 5, 2024
Join The Seattle Public Library and Langston Seattle from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27 for an in-depth discussion with acclaimed Seattle author Ijeoma Oluo about her new book "Be a Revolution: How Everyday People are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World — and How You Can, Too."
The event will be held at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (104 17th Ave. S., Seattle). Tickets are free but required; you can reserve them through the Langston website. Olou will be in conversation with educator, activist, poet and politician Nikkita Oliver.
“Be a Revolution,” which follows Olou’s New York Times bestseller “So You Want to talk About Race” and “Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America,” is both an urgent chronicle of this important moment in history and a call for action.
“We are thrilled that Ijeoma will join us to celebrate ‘Be a Revolution’ and to share stories that will help all of us engage with our communities and examine how we can create positive systemic change,” said Stesha Brandon, Humanities program manager at The Seattle Public Library.
Thanks to our partner Langston Seattle, and our sponsors The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation.
ABOUT “BE A REVOLUTION”
In her #1 New York Times bestseller “So You Want To Talk About Race,” Oluo offered a guide for how to talk about issues of race and racism in society. In “Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America,” she discussed the ways in which white male supremacy has had an impact on systems, culture, and lives throughout American history. But now that we better understand these systems of oppression, Oluo seeks to address the question: What can we do about them?
With “Be A Revolution,” Oluo shows how people across America are working to create change in American systems and structures. Looking at powerful systems in the U.S. — like education, media, labor, health, housing, policing, and more — she highlights what everyday people are doing to create change for intersectional racial equity. This book aims to educate and inspire action and change. Oluo wishes to take conversations on race and racism out of a place of pure pain and trauma, and into a place of loving action.
ABOUT IJEOMA OLUO
Ijeoma Oluo is a writer, speaker, and internet yeller. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller “So You Want to Talk About Race” and, most recently, “Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America.” Her work has been featured in the Guardian, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, among many other publications. She was named to the 2021 Time 100 Next list and has twice been named to the Root 100. She received the 2018 Feminist Humanist Award and the 2020 Harvard Humanist of the Year Award from the American Humanist Association.
ABOUT NIKKITA OLIVER
Nikkita Oliver is a Seattle-based creative, community organizer, abolitionist, educator, and attorney. Working at the intersections of arts, law, education, and community organizing they strive to create experiences which draw us closer to our humanity. Their work asks us to engage what we see happening now and to imagine what we hope to see in the future. They have opened for Cornel West and Chuck D of Public Enemy, performed on The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert, and been featured on The Breakfast Club and KUOW's The Week in Review. Their writing has been published in the South Seattle Emerald, Crosscut, the Establishment, Last Real Indians, The Seattle Weekly, and The Stranger. They organize with No New Youth Jail and the Seattle Peoples Party. Nikkita was the first political candidate of the Seattle Peoples Party running for Mayor of Seattle in 2017.
MORE INFORMATION
The Library believes that the power of knowledge improves people's lives. We promote literacy and a love of reading as we bring people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and build community. Find more events at www.spl.org/Calendar.
Contact the Library’s Ask Us service by phone at 206-386-4636 or by email or chat at www.spl.org/Ask. Staff are ready to answer questions and direct you to helpful resources and information.