We are excited to launch BOOK DROP! This initiative highlight books on topics that we find important and timely by putting them into the hands of people in our community that are eager to know and share. Yep…we are giving away books! If you have entered our golden abode you know that books are important to our work and we are excited to spread, beyond our walls, the belief that books not only impact what we know and how we feel, but can also inspire action.
There is no better way to start than with Rodney Hurst’s “It Was Never About a Hotdog and a Coke”. This book gives us a glimpse into the events before, during, and after Ax Handle Saturday, a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement in Jacksonville and beyond. Mr. Hurst’s narrative about the Black youth-led protests to desegregate lunch counters and the riotous violence of a white mob that aimed to stop progress remains incredibly relevant as we march toward the 60th Anniversary on August 27.
We are giving away 50 of Mr. Hurst’s books to people in Jacksonville, with preference to those who do not know this history well or at all. Our only requests are that you read it prior to the anniversary (which is also the scheduled date of the ill-conceived RNC here in Jax), share it with others, and use the words and images contained within to motivate your own activism for racial justice. And look out for a live conversation with Mr. Hurst in the coming weeks.
As participants in the demonstrations happening in our community, it is not lost on us the striking parallels between the summer of 1960 and today’s movement to address the continued racism that permeates every aspect of our society. We hope that you will dive into this history wearing the lenses of the moment we are in today.
If you would like to be on the receiving end of this BOOK DROP (first come, first served), send an email to hope@yellowhouseart.org and put BOOK DROP in the subject line. Be sure to share your name, because Rodney Hurst will be signing each book! We will have the book signed and delivered to your home in the next two weeks.