Knox County Public Library invites the public to join Jackie Clay, Executive Director, Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, and Ronni Chandler, Director of Project Grad Knoxville, when they return to continue the discussion of Rac(e)ing to Class: Confronting Poverty and Race in Schools and Classrooms by Richard A. Milner IV., Wednesday, July 26, noon to 1:00 in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium. Books Sandwiched In is sponsored by the Friends of Knox County Public Library. Attendees may bring lunch. Drinks are available to purchase.

“We really want teachers, parents and students to attend and join the conversation,” Nicole Barajas, Co-Coordinator of the series said. “So we rescheduled it for the summer.”

"Rac(e)ing to Class re-centers discourse on poverty AND race," Chandler said. "There is often a greater comfort level inside and outside of education to talk about poverty, while race is an uncomfortable--even taboo--topic. But, BOTH poverty and race are impacting the educational experiences of our most vulnerable and marginalized students who depend on school for so much more than academic success. Community conditions and national events are influencing our children. Right here in Knoxville."

In addition to her position as Executive Director of the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, Clay is a Field Instructor with UT’s College of Social Work. She previously served as Program Manager in the City of Knoxville Mayor’s Office, including the Save Our Sons program, a community crime reduction program with the aim to reduce violence and create opportunities for boys and young men of color.

Chandler describes herself as “an educator, by calling and choice.” For 16 years, she has been with Project GRAD Knoxville, a nonprofit partnership that supports students in 14 Knox County schools and focuses on graduation from high school and higher education. Previously, she worked 23 years in at Pellissippi State Community College.

Check for a library copy of Rac(e)ing to Class.

Book Sandwiched In will continue August 23, when Dr. Victor Erik Ray, UT Department of Sociology, will lead a discussion of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi. On September 27, Dr. Oleg Manaev, Global Security Fellow at the Institute for Nuclear Security, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will discuss The Man without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladmir Putin by Masha Gessen. On October 18, Brandon Hollingsworth, WUOT’s All Things Considered Host/Producer, will discuss All These Worlds Are Yours: The Scientific Search for Alien Life by Jon Willis. On November 15, Gabrielle Cline-Snell, will discuss Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond.