Arcadia University kicked off Black History Month with the annual African-American Read-In on Wednesday in the Grey Towers Castle Rose Room. This year’s theme, “Resistance, Resilience, and Reclamation,” honored the enduring power of African-American literature to inspire social change and cultural pride.

Led by alumna and former Grant Administrative Coordinator of the Center for Antiracist Scholarship, Advocacy, Action (CASAA) Deja Edwards ’18, ’21M, the Read-In invited participants to read aloud or perform works by Black authors and storytellers of their choosing, relating to this year’s theme.

“I am always honored to lead the African-American Read-In because it honors the tradition of storytelling within the Black community that is often ignored or limited to a few writers accepted within the wider canon of literary culture,” Edwards said. “The truth is, I would have never started writing if I had not read ‘The Bluest Eye’ by Toni Morrison or ‘I, Too, Am America’ by Langston Hughes. I read books from African-American authors to connect with my history and community and I hope it gives insight into how powerful the African-American community is when we collectively celebrate ourselves and our accomplishments.”

One of the first readings came from Diana Moro, director of the Office of Equity and Civil Rights and Title IX Coordinator, who chose Yvette Perry’s “To My Daughters, Who Will Need to Know,” sparking conversation around sisterhood and community.

“I’m the mother of two women, and I started in higher ed on a COVID response team, helping a school reopen,” says Moro. “How Perry speaks to her daughters about how she leans into her sisters and her sister’s friends, and how she relies on other women was so important to me. Same with giving yourself the time to feel the pain in the moment before you can learn and grow from it.”

Established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English, the African-American Read-In honors the legacy of African-American literature and the contributions of Black writers in shaping history, celebrating culture, championing social justice, and envisioning liberation from racism and systemic oppression. 

“Throughout the African-American literary tradition, Black writers have been particularly responsive to the social and political events of their time, not only resisting discriminatory and oppressive policies through their work but also the active erasure or silencing of Black, Indigenous, and people of color voices,” said Dr. Christopher Allen Varlack, executive director of CASAA and director of the Pan-African Studies program. 

“Yet that thread of resistance, which we carry in the present day, is not the only focus of the poetry, fiction, plays, and other forms of writing that Black writers have produced. For us, it is important to probe the ways that Black writers have captured the persistence of the African-American community beyond the experiences of inequity and violence, just as we must explore how those same writers reclaim the power to tell their own stories in their own voice.”

This year’s Read-In at Arcadia was co-sponsored by CASAA; the Office of Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; the Pan African Studies Program; the Department of English; and Landman Library. Guests were also invited to share works during an open reading segment after the scheduled performances.