Beloved Community — News — The Children's Diversity and Justice Library

As Grandpa says in one of our favorite books, “All Around Us” written by Xelena Gonzalez and illustrated by Adriana M Garcia, “Circles are all around us. We just have to look for them.” And it’s true, circles are all around us, even within us, and we within them, from the tiny circles of cells and atoms to the circle of the water cycle with rain falling from the clouds, filling up reservoirs, travelling through rivers, evaporating up again, and coming back down.

One thing that all circles have in common is that they form a boundary between what is inside and what is outside. And that boundary marks a distinction: everything inside the circle shares something in common that is not shared by what is outside the circle. Socially, this can look like belonging to a group with a common interest like cycling or knitting where everyone in the group participates in that activity and has a sense of belonging to that group. People outside the group may, or may not, also enjoy that activity, but for many possible reasons, they do not share a sense of belonging to that particular group. They are not part of that circle.

However, it can be hard to reconcile the tension between enjoying the belonging and comfort found within a group, and the growth and excitement that comes from widening our circles and letting the outside in. How do you attend to your own growth and development, and participate in and nurture your circles, while also cultivating the curiosity and openness that allows you and your groups to grow and evolve? How do groups foster the trust within that allows them to grow, while simultaneously welcoming newcomers?

It’s also important to be aware of the difference between firm and porous boundaries, and to question who is involved in forming and maintaining a circle or group. Who is in, who is out, and why? Firm boundaries can become overly insulating as well as exclusionary, making it difficult to recognize and honor all people as worthy of being held within a circle of love and worth. In addition, many people have been, and still are, excluded from circles, not because of lack of affinity, but because of discrimination and prejudice. Remembering to consider who is, and who isn’t, forming, maintaining, joining and participating in a circle, and whether the group’s boundaries are fixed or movable, helps create circles that can be widened and maintain a society that is welcoming, inviting, inclusive and just.

This month, we make our way together towards wider circles by sharing books that offer tools and inspiration for:

widening our self acceptance,
widening our love,
widening our understanding of history, and
widening our commitment to community free from racism and oppression.

The books in the curated list below, all written by or about people with identities and/or from communities that are under-published and under-represented in literature, each draw upon these themes. These, and hundreds more, are available for loan to our library patrons. Click “Borrow A Book” to learn how to bring these and other books home. If you’re not local to our lending program, please refer to these suggestions when looking for books. May this list help you and yours widen your circles.

*Monthly themes adapted from the work of Soul Matters Sharing Circle https://www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com

Widening Our Self Acceptance

Picture Books

Sulwe written by Nyong’o Lupita, illustrations by Vashti Harrison
Big Hair, Don’t Care - Crystal Swain-Bates author; Megan Bair, illustrator
Tough Guys Have Feelings Too written and illustrated by Keith Negley
Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, author, and Luisa Uribe, illustrator
Bodies are Cool by Tyler Feder
Beautifully Me by Nabela Noor
You Matter - Christian Robinson author and illustrator

Juvenile & Up

Love Your Body by Jessica Sanders
Zoe in Wonderland by Brenda Woods

Middle Grades

Unsettled written by Reem Faruqi, illustrated by Soumbal Qureshi
Zoe in Wonderland by Brenda Woods
Other Boys written and illustrated by Damian Alexander

Teen & Up

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
Girls Write Now: Two Decades of True Stories from Young Female Writers - Girls Write Now contributors
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
Special Topics in Being a Human: A Queer and Tender Guide to Things I’ve Learned the Hard Way about Caring for People, Including Myself - S. Bear Bergman, author; Saul Freedman-Lawson, illustrator

Adult

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson

Widening Our Love

Board Book

Love Makes A Family by Sophie Beer
Good Night Families (Good Night Our World) - Adam Gamble, author; Kelly Cooper, illustrator
Mommy, Mama, and Me by Leslea Newman
Hugs of Three: My Daddies and Me by Dr. Stacey Bromberg
And Tango Makes Three - Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, authors; Henry Cole, illustrator
Nibi is Water by Joanne Robertson

Picture Book

Grandma Comes to Stay (First Experiences) by Ifeoma Onyefulu
A Friend for Henry - Jenn Bailey, author; Mika Song, illustrator
I Am Love: A Book of Compassion - Susan Verde, author; Peter H. Reynolds, illustrator
You Matter - Christian Robinson author and illustrator
A Manual for Marco: Living, Learning and Laughing with an Autistic Sibling by Shaila Abdullah, author, and Iman Tejpar, illustrator

Juvenile & Up

Why Are You Looking At Me? I Just Have Down Syndrome written by Lisa Tompkins and illustrated by Ryan Eubanks

Middle Grades

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

Teen and Up

Special Topics in Being a Human: A Queer and Tender Guide to Things I’ve Learned the Hard Way about Caring for People, Including Myself - S. Bear Bergman, author; Saul Freedman-Lawson, illustrator

Adult

The Gender Creative Child: Pathways for Nurturing and Supporting Children Who Live Outside Gender Boxes - Diane Ehrensaft, author.
Unconditional: A Guide to Loving and Supporting Your LGBTQ Child by Telaina Eriksen

Widening Our History by Expanding What We Tell & How We Tell It

Board Book

This Little Trailblazer: A Girl Power Primer written by Joan Holub and illustrated by Daniel Roode
Cradle Me (Navajo and English Edition) by Debby Slier

Picture Book

The People Remember with words by Ibi Zoboi and pictures by Loveis Wise
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water words by Nikole Hannah-Jones & Renee Watson, pictures by Nikkolas Smith’
All Around Us by Xelena Gonzalez
When We Were Alone written by David Alexander Robertson and illustrated by Julie Flett
Enough: 20 Protesters Who Changed America - Emily Easton, author; Ziyue Chen, illustrator

Widening Our Commitment to Building the Beloved Community, Free from Racism and Oppression

Boardbooks

A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara

Picture Book

A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
The People Remember by Ibi Zoboi, author, and Loveis Wise, illustrator
Sofia Valdez, Future Prez written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts
She’s My Dad!: A Story for Children Who Have a Transgender Parent or Relative written by Sarah Savage, illustrated by Joules Garcia
V is for Voting - Kate Farrell, author; Caitlin Kuhwald, illustrator
All Because You Matter - author, Tamil Charles; illustrator Bryan Collier
Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock by Aslan and Kelly Tudor

Juvenile

We Shall Overcome - Bryan Collier, illustrator
Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness - written and illustrated by Anastasia Higginbotham
When A Bully is President: Truth and Creativity for Oppressive TImes by Maya Gonzalez

Middle Grades & Up

Girl Warriors: How 25 Young Activists are Saving the Earth by Rachel Sarah
This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewel

Teen

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
Wake, Rise, Resist: The Progressive Teen’s Guide to Fighting Tyrants and A*holes - Joanna Spathis and Kerri Kennedy, authors.

adult

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
Antiracist Baby - words by Ibram X. Kendi, illustrations by Ashley Lukashevsky
Trans Allyship Workbook: Building Skills to Support Trans People in our Lives - Davey Shlasko, author; Kai Hofius, illustrator
Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving
Raising Antiracist Kids by Nicole C. Lee, Esq.
Brown: The Last Discovery of America by Richard Rodriguez
3 Keys to Defeating Unconscious Bias: Watch, Think, Act by Sondra Thienderman
How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance by Akiba Solomon
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Beloved Community is a term coined by philosopher Josiah Royce and popularized by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Dr. King imagined Beloved Community as a society based on justice, equity, peace and love of others. He deepened and broadened the meaning of Beloved Community to refer to “a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth” (thekingcenter.org). It is a vision where the inevitability of human conflict is recognized, but a pervasive commitment to and skillfulness with nonviolence means that no conflict would lead to inequality, discrimination, or harm.

This month, we explore four themes within the richness of Beloved Community. These themes demonstrate and encourage ways we can be, live in and work towards creating communities in which all people are honored, loved, healed, celebrated and working towards justice.

Beloved Community is a special kind of community. It is a community where . . . .

. . . black leaders are honored
. . . love grows beyond bounds
. . . wounds are healed
. . . we keep working when things get difficult, uncomfortable or we make mistakes.

The books in the curated list below, all written by or about people, communities and identities under represented in published literature, each draw upon these Beloved Community themes. These books, and hundreds more, are all available for loan to our library patrons as well as TVUUC members and families. Click “Borrow A Book” to learn how to bring these and other books home. If you’re not able to check books out, please refer to these suggestions when looking for books exploring Beloved Community. And if you want to support our efforts, visit https://cdjlibrary.org/support to learn how you can do that.

How are you creating Beloved Community?

*Monthly themes adapted from the work of Soul Matters Sharing Circle https://www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com