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One Everett One Book program to feature “Stamped” by Jason Reynold and Ibram X. Kendi

Everett Public Library, City of Everett, Everett Public Schools, Everett Community College and WSU Everett to host community-wide reading event on February 22.

EVERETT, Wash.  – Feb. 4, 2021 – The Everett Public Library, City of Everett, Everett Public Schools, Everett Community College and Washington State University Everett invite community members of all ages to join us in the inaugural city-wide reading program called One Everett One Book. “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi has been selected as the 2021 One Book pick. The authors will speak in a live, virtual event on Monday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. at www.crowdcast.io/e/everett.

One Everett One Book is a new initiative to engage community through conversation. Everyone is encouraged to read “Stamped” and join in a conversation around race and social justice. “This is an important opportunity for us to come together as a community to read, reflect and learn from each other,” said City of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin. “Together we can explore how inequalities are impacting our community and nation, and begin working on actions we can take locally to address them.”

Community members are invited to join the virtual program with authors Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi on Monday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. Reynolds and Kendi will be joined in conversation by Dr. Daria J. Willis, President of Everett Community College. To register for the program, visit the event page at www.crowdcast.io/e/everett.

“One Everett One Book is an opportunity to engage in ongoing dialogue about the history of racism in our country, region and city,” said Everett Community College President Daria J. Willis. “Learning from our history and from each other creates the possibilities for meaningful change and authentic equity. I look forward to our community being able to spend time with this text and the authors.”

The sponsoring organizations for this program are proud to collaborate on an inclusive, community-wide event. “When we engage in shared learning experiences like One Everett One Book, we become the change we want to see,” said Lynne K. Varner, Associate Vice Chancellor at WSU Everett.

Everett Public Schools plans to engage students of all ages with this program. “’Stamped’ is a great book to read. I highly recommend it as we engage in equitable outcomes for our students,” said Dr. Ian B. Saltzman, superintendent of Everett Public Schools.

For more information on this event and a full list of programs, visit: epls.org/onebook. Print and digital copies of “Stamped” are available to borrow from the Everett Public Library.

About the book:

“Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Jason Reynolds and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi explores the legacy of racism throughout the entire history of the United States of America. “Stamped” is written in a style that is widely accessible to young adult and adult readers with a range of reading skills and time to commit to reading.

About the authors:

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. Reynolds is also the 2020–2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His many books include “When I Was the Greatest,” “The Boy in the Black Suit,” “All American Boys” (cowritten with Brendan Kiely), “As Brave as You,” “For Every One,” the “Track” series, “Look Both Ways” and “Long Way Down,” which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor.

Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at “The Atlantic” and a CBS News correspondent. He is the author of many books including “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and three #1 New York Times bestsellers, “How to Be an Antiracist;” “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and “Antiracist Baby,” illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky. In 2020, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

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