University to Host Youth Dialogue in Partnership with Scranton Reads

The Scranton Reads Committee has released its full list of events happening all month long in February 2021. This year’s Scranton Reads selection Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, tells the powerful story of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington's runaway slave who risked everything to escape the nation's capital and reach freedom.  The Scranton Reads events will offer community members an opportunity to read this celebrated book and to engage with the issues raised in Dunbar’s narrative. 

As a part of the Scranton Reads 2021 events, The University of Scranton will host a virtual youth dialogue for Scranton area middle and high school students on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 3 PM.  This dialogue will offer students an opportunity to come together to discuss Dunbar’s book and to reflect on our nation’s founding ideals and the lived reality of slavery and racism. Parents and guardians can register their students here. 

The University has hosted similar youth dialogues previously, including in 2018 around the graphic novel March, with the Greater Scranton Martin Luther King Commission. The University has organized similar discussions on campus since 2017 as part of an ongoing “Bursting Our Political Bubbles” Dialogue Initiative, which blends the reflective, structured dialogue methods of national non-profit Essential Partners with St. Ignatius of Loyola’s teachings of discernment and reflection. For tips on how to have your own constructive dialogue that involves both listening to and learning from others, click here.

A complete list of Scranton Reads 2021 events and information on this year’s book “Never Caught” by Erica Armstrong Dunbar can be found on the Scranton Reads website: scrantonreads.org. Events will include book discussion groups and a special virtual talk with the author held in collaboration with the Black Scranton Project on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. Those interested in participating in any of these events can register on the Albright Memorial Library’s website, albright.org.

For questions on the Scranton Reads program, contact Jessica Serrenti at jserrenti@albright.org or (570) 795-4315. For information on the youth dialogue, contact the Office of Community Relations at community@scranton.edu.