From staff reports
For the fifth time, the Beaufort Human Library project will promote empathy and understanding across communities by offering the public opportunities to “check out” more than a dozen volunteer Human Books who will be sharing their personal stories of facing challenges and striving for acceptance.
These engaging conversations will cover topics including education, military service, healthcare, gender, race, addiction, abuse, and advocacy, among others. The dialogues focus on building bridges of understanding, person to person, through storytelling.
The Beaufort Human Library will be held on opening day of National Library Week, from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, April 6, in MacLean Hall, Building 12 of the Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL), at 104 Reynolds Street in Beaufort. Free and open to the public, the event is hosted by TCL; the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center; DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization; and volunteer community organizers.
The afternoon begins from 1 to 1:45 p.m. with this year’s featured Human Books: sisters Lynn Bryant, a retired educator, and Victoria Smalls, a cultural preservationist. Following that featured conversation, all the volunteer Human Books will be available throughout MacLean Hall to be checked out for 30-minute small group conversations from 2 to 4 p.m.
Attendees (the “Readers”) may choose to participate in a new conversation every half-hour throughout the afternoon. Advance registration is not required, nor are attendees required to stay for the whole afternoon. Check out just one Human Book, or four, or any number in between. Volunteer Librarians and student Bookmarks from DAYLO will be on hand to help guests navigate their Beaufort Human Library experience and answer questions.
In addition to Lynn Bryant and Victoria Smalls, this year’s Human Books include community members Paulette Edwards, Ashley Gardner, Karen Gareis, Col. Richard Geier (U.S.Army, ret.), Marie Gibbs, Connie Hipp, Gwenn McClune, Brea Parker, Gene Rugala, Sissy the Entertainer, and Beth Young.
To learn more about the Beaufort Human Library, visit www.facebook.com/beauforthumanlibrary.
