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The Yiddish Book Center’s “Stories of Exile” Reading Groups for Public Libraries is a program in which librarians organize reading groups to discuss three books of Yiddish literature in translation.
In 1860, long after the United States outlawed the importation of enslaved laborers, 110 men, women and children from Benin and Nigeria were captured and brought to Mobile, Alabama aboard a ship called Clotilda. Their journey includes the savage Middle Passage and being hidden in the swamplands along the Alabama River before being secretly parceled out to various plantations, where they made desperate attempts to maintain both their culture and also fit into the place of captivity to which they'd been delivered. At the end of the Civil War, the survivors created a community for themselves they called African Town, which still exists to this day. Told in 14 distinct voices, including that of the ship that brought them to the American shores and the founder of African Town, this powerfully affecting historical novel-in-verse recreates a pivotal moment in US and world history, the impacts of which we still feel today.
The program will also be streamed live on the Hoover Library YouTube and Facebook pages.
Located in Hoover, Alabama, at 200 Municipal Drive, the Hoover Public Library has been operating since 1983. The Hoover Public Library seeks to reinvent the way communities view libraries. As the heart and soul of the Hoover community, we are more than just a library. We’re the place you come to meet your friends, experience live theater, peruse art, listen to music, entertain your children, learn about new technology, seek job searching assistance, explore your interests, find good book recommendations and much, much more. We seek to grow our patronage by offering an unparalleled customer experience.