The Bibliophiles, Inc., An African-American Reading Group, is very excited to announce our upcoming podcast — The Scratch Line Chronicles.
So why are The Bibliophiles starting a podcast? Glad you asked.
Primarily we see a podcast as two-fold. First, a podcast is a natural extension of our mission to help individuals and organizations learn more about the literature and arts of the African Diaspora.
Secondly, and looming more important, is the fact that we are seeing actions taken across this country to squash, erase, modify, compromise, and generally defame the Black contribution to the building of this country! Most recently Gov desantis (lower case intentional) decided that an AP course in African American history ‘significantly lacks educational value’! While similar AP courses in European History and other cultures pass muster with him. The AP course in question was developed by The College Board in conjunction with higher education institutions over the span of a decade.
Book banning in public and school libraries is also running rampant across the U.S. Much of this mindset is under the umbrella of eliminating the teaching of critical race theory. We understand critical race theory as a means of teaching history. It is not a tool of indoctrination. The phrase has become a means of hot-wiring political division.
Given this atmosphere, we feel it is imperative that we take up the mantle of teaching about our contributions through the literature of the African Diaspora. If there are questions about what we mean – review our reading lists to understand the breadth and depth of our reading. We read for entertainment, yes, and equally for education. Our discussions are led by facilitators tasked with researching the author, topic, period of the work, etc. We have maintained our meetings and enthusiasm throughout the pandemic meeting remotely. We take our mission seriously.
Why The Scratch Line Chronicles?
The scratch line traditionally was drawn in the dirt as a line beyond which another contestant or combatant must not step. Our Scratch Line Chronicles will serve to be a scratch line for anyone who wants to ignore, block or disparage works and the history of the African Diaspora.
When will Scratch Line Chronicles be available? We are planning to launch our first podcast in June 2023.
What will the topics or subject matter of The Scratch Line Chronicles be? We plan to have panel discussions based on our reading list, past and present and tie them into topics of the day, when appropriate.
Stay tuned!