We're FINALLY starting a bookclub! We're thrilled that the wonderful Ubax of Cheche bookshop in Nairobi will be leading it, and we can't wait to get started on our first read: We Do This 'Til We Free Us, by Mariame Kaba.
We'll be hosting our first get-together via Zoom on Sunday, April 11th at 1PM EST (10AM PST). The discussion will last about an hour, but feel free to drop in or out! We'll all be on, and we'd love to see you!
And now, for the details:
BOOKSHOP!
Wondering where to get your copy? We'll have each bookclub book available on our Bookshop, here!
For those of you based in Nairobi, Cheche will be offering a 10% discount on all Zuri bookclub selections!
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING // "We Are American Soldiers" Virtual Screening
As some of you may know, the owners of 363 Bleecker are a wonderful family who took a chance on us and we've never looked back :) The patriarch of the family, Mr. KY Yee passed away last spring, but his legacy lives on. His granddaughter, Katie, made a documentary that is screening TONIGHT about his life and the larger story of Chinese American soldiers during WWII. Mr. Yee immigrated to the US as a child, served during WWII as a member of an all-Chinese American unit, and became a beloved figure in both the West Village and Chinatown in NYC. His story is an American story, and especially in light of the horrifying wave of hate crimes towards Asian Americans spreading across the country, it's an important reminder that the battles that he and his fellow Chinese American soldiers fought on American soil after serving on behalf of this country continue on. We can't recommend this film enough!
INSTA CORNER! WHO WE'RE FOLLOWING: @trevor_stuurman
Ever since we first saw one of Trevor Stuurman's beaded bicycles in the Maboneng neighborhood of Johannesburg, we've been in awe of this 28-year-old dynamo. A photographer and visual artist, Trevor incorporates his heritage into his work with an eye toward travel and fashion. Trust us--you'll love seeing the world through his eyes.
*Portrait of Trevor Stuurman by Bisa Butler
WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO // Ebo Taylor
This album is a lost treasure of Ghanaian highlife. According to the music label, "for reasons that no-one (including Ebo) can now fully recall, the master tapes got shelved in a dusty backroom in Tabansi’s Onitsha HQ. Where they remained, undisturbed, unreleased, unplayed, for almost forty years.”
WHAT WE'RE READING// We Do This 'Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba
What if social transformation and liberation isn’t about waiting for someone else to come along and save us? What if ordinary people have the power to collectively free ourselves? In this timely collection of essays and interviews, Mariame Kaba reflects on the deep work of abolition and transformative political struggle.
