Utah State Participates in National African American Read-In

Utah State University's Black Student Union, along with others on campus, participated in the National African American Read-In Monday, February 3. The event lasted all day in the Taggart Student Center and allowed students, faculty and staff the opportunity to attend a number of readings written by black and minority authors.

Patricia Gantt, event organizer and Department of English associate professor, said of the event, "The African American Read-In is a wonderful opportunity for our community to celebrate the legacy of genius we all share."

This year marked the first time Utah State participated in the national event.

Participant Tim Vitale chose a contemporary, urban piece to read at the event because he believes it's not often we get to hear the voices of minority authors speaking to us about their concerns today.

"Besides containing sizzling language, my chosen piece gives us a clear voice and a completely different perspective, unlike anything we're used to in Utah," Vitale said.

"The person before me read from Ralph Ellison's 'The Invisible Man,' and if you want to get slapped in the face — almost physically — by race in America, you should have heard that piece," Vitale added. "Then a student followed me with a brilliant reading from a book called 'Blue and Me,' another urban-voiced story about life in an African American's America. It wasn't a story about candy canes and apple pie."

Readers selected pieces from both renowned African American voices and from others whose names might be more obscure. The audiences heard the words of Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King and James Baldwin. But it also heard lesser-known but equally insightful readings from Jaki Shelton Green, Margaree King Mitchell and Toni Cade Bambara.

Students, faculty and staff members participated in this first read-in.