On February 23 during lunch at 12:10 pm, students, faculty, staff, and administrators trickled into the library ready to enjoy the literature of African American authors. About 30 participants sat around in an intimate setting next to the fireplace and enjoyed snacks of jelly beans and other treats, listening to various readers, including James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Taye Diggs, and ZZ Packer.

In honor of Black History Month in February, Parker hosted its second such read-in. Co-sponsored by Upper School English department head Theresa Collins and Middle and Upper School Library and Information Services Specialist Annette Lesak, the read-in was open to all members of the community.

“The read-in is a creation of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE),” Collins said, “and they created it a number of years ago to celebrate Black History Month.”

“This will give students the opportunity to listen to different voices and writings of African Americans,” Collins said, “and the goal is about getting kids and teachers in schools all over the country to find a piece of writing that they really love by an African American author and to share it with their school community.”

Not all schools expose children to a wide range of writers and therefore, according to Collins, “sometimes schools don’t reflect as many diverse voices and sometimes just hearing something helps people find their way towards new books or poems or plays or short stories, so this is a nice way to do so.”

This is not the only such event Parker has hosted. In September, there was a read-in for Latin American History. These read-ins, however, were created not only to celebrate a specific culture. Lesak said, “It is essentially an opportunity for anyone in the Parker community to come together.” Both events were drop-ins where the participants simply picked their favorite pieces of work and read them.

Rolanda Shepard, Upper School Coordinator, was one of the attendees. Shepard read “Chocolate Me,” a 2011 children’s by Taye Diggs, because it is a special book for her to read to her son. “There aren’t a ton of books out there that kind of reinforce positivity for your appearance in being different,” Shepard said, “when you’re possibly going to be in an environment where you’re a little more different than everyone else.”

Cory Zeller, Upper School English teacher, read an excerpt from 2003 “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,” by ZZ Packer. It is a collection of short stories about African American young girls and their individual experiences. “I just found her style to be really kind of fresh and honest and comedic,” Zeller said, “and that was really fun for me too because I teach the Comedy and Literature class.”

The read-in was a hit for Shepard. “I think it was empowering,” she said. “It was enlightening and just an opportunity for students as well as faculty and staff to share things that were pertinent to them.”