Prompted by the election of the first black President of the United States, Tanner Colby realized that he had no black friends, but not only that nearly everyone he knew and interacted with was white. Upon further investigation he realized that he was hardly unique. Continuing the conversation, Colby will join us to share his own story of looking beyond skin.
Wednesday, Oct. 8
7 - 8:30 p.m.
Central Resource Library, Gallery Area
Colby's recent book Some of My Best Friends Are Black traces the color line through his own life and the experiences of other everyday Americans. He weaves four interconnecting stories: busing at his own high school in Birmingham, Ala.; real estate practices in Kansas City, Mo., and Johnson County, Kan.; the advertising industry on Madison Avenue; and finally a Louisiana town struggling to put its two racially divided churches back together. Hear his perspective on how, a century after the Civil Rights Movement, true integration has made few inroads into many American lives.
This program funded through the Lauffer Civic Engagement Fund at the Johnson County Library Foundation.