Reading is an act of resistance
Silent Book Club is a values-driven organization that has always stood firm in our beliefs. In the current political climate, it can feel scary to speak out and overwhelming to take action. Not everyone has to agree with us, and not everyone has the privilege that we acknowledge to speak freely. But as an organization, we want to share where we stand.
Here is the statement that we first published on our activism page wewillnotbesilent.us in 2017, and that we have maintained and updated in the intervening years. Our position has not wavered.
"I thought Silent Book Club was about reading and books... not a political organization."
We founded Silent Book Club in 2012 to create a space for readers to connect with each other through a shared love of books. We did not set out to be a political group, but as Roxane Gay powerfully declared, "today, tomorrow and for the foreseeable future, everything we do is political—as readers, as writers, as booksellers, as people."
More than ever, we believe in creating safe spaces for people to take refuge in books. All are welcome at Silent Book Club, and we do not discriminate based on politics, religion, gender, race, sexuality, or belief system. Our community guidelines are very clear: we do not tolerate hate.
We will stand up to people who ban books. We will fight for equal rights. We will defend our freedom to read, to love, to marry, to vote, to exist. We will use our power and our privilege and the platform we have built to speak out for what we believe in. We will not be silent.
Guinevere de la Mare & Laura Gluhanich
Co-founders, Silent Book Club
National Shutdown, January 30
Silent Book Club supports the national strike on January 30th to send a clear message to the current administration that we will not tolerate ICE terrifying our communities.
However, there are many ways to engage, and holding space for communities to come together is important. So we stand with the local chapters, public libraries, and independent bookstores that are keeping their doors open today.
Here are a few links with resources for other ways to support Minneapolis:
https://www.moonamoono.com/help-mpls