An Alabama family started an antiracist library to promote racial justice and the importance of diversity in reading
By Alaa Elassar, Kristen Berthiaume remembers when George Floyd was murdered, with body cam footage revealing his struggles to breathe and cries for his mother as a police officer knelt on his neck. Berthiaume couldn’t stop thinking about Floyd, his loved ones, and the Black community as nationwide protests and demands for justice were often met with what she says was blatant racism and ignorance. After talking with her family about what role they could play in promoting racial justice in their community in Homewood, Alabama, an idea was born. “Our library was closed due to Covid, but I noticed that books about