Founder, Dr. Aimee Wiest
Hosted by Lewes Public Library
SDARJ Book & Film Discussion A Lewes Book Club you'll love coming back to!
Founded by Dr. Aimee Wiest, and hosted by the Lewes Public Library, the SDARJ Book & Film Discussion celebrates it’s 8th year in 2026. Giving members a chance to talk about African American-themed books and films and get new knowledge and insights about racism.
Join us every month at the Lewes Public Library and via Zoom to discuss books and films. We are sometimes joined by the author or film maker! Scroll down to read its history and view the full schedule.
The History of the Book & Film Discussion Group
The Book Group – and indeed SDARJ itself – grew out of discussions of The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, hosted by St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lewes in 2015. This series was followed by a similar series in 2016 hosted by Unitarian-Universalists of Southern Delaware. A question arose out of those meetings: “What can we do?” And SDARJ was born.
The Book Group was organized in 2017 by Dr. Aimee Wiest. After Dr. Wiest passed, a volunteer committee took over selecting titles and leading discussions. The mission of this group and activity has always been in support of the larger mission of SDARJ, to educate and engage people with the issues and culture of Black people in America – in the hope of reducing racism and its corrosive effects.
Meetings have always been held at Lewes Public Library (except during covid lockdowns, when they were continued by Zoom), and have always been open to the public. While In-Person meetings are again available, the Zoom option has been maintained, and the group regularly draws participants who are not local – some from as far away as Georgia and New York. It is estimated that the total attendance for these meetings exceeds 1,650 people.
The group usually has 11 meetings per year, though some years had 12 meetings, for a total of 105 meetings. Over that period, we have read more than 86 books and viewed 24 films. In recent years, when complementary books and films were available, we have both read and watched offerings. A listing of books and films is available online
The Complete 2026 Schedule
January 27th at 6pm
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates
by Wes Moore
A non-fiction book by author Wes Moore about two young men from the same city and with the same name who have drastically different life outcomes.
February 24th at 6pm
STRAW (Film)
Directed by Tyler Perry
The film explores themes of poverty, systemic oppression, and maternal desperation, with a twist ending that reveals a tragic secret about her daughter.
March 24th at 6pm
Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank
by Justene Hill Edwards
Fully informed by new archival findings, historian Justene Hill Edwards unearths a major turning point in American history in this comprehensive account of the Freedman’s Bank and its depositors.
April 28th at 6pm
Waking Up White: Finding Myself in the Story of Race
by Debby Irving
A personal account of author and racial justice educator Debby Irving’s journey from a sheltered, privileged upbringing to an understanding of systemic racism and her own white privilege.
May 26th at 6pm
Shirley (Film)
Directed by John Ridley
Shirley is a 2024 biographical drama directed by John Ridley that focuses on Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 presidential campaign.
June 23rd at 6pm
Black Moses: Ambition and Fight for a Black State
by Caleb Gayle
A historical account of Edward McCabe, a Black politician and businessman who championed creating a state within the Union governed by and for Black people in late 19th-century Oklahoma.
July 28th at 6pm
The Women of Brewster Place (Book and Film)
by Gloria Naylor
A 1982 National Book Award-winning novel by Gloria Naylor that follows the lives of seven Black women living in a deteriorating housing project.
Borrow it from the Lewes Library | Purchase at Browseabout Books
Watch it on Prime | Watch it on Apple TV+ | Watch the Trailer
August 25th at 6pm
Is That Black Enough For You?: History and Craft of African-American Cinema (Film)
Directed by Elvis Mitchell
A 2022 documentary directed by Elvis Mitchell that examines the history, craft, and legacy of African-American cinema, with a particular focus on the revolutionary era of the 1970s.
September 22nd at 6pm
Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools That Built the Civil Rights Movement
by Elaine Weiss
Chronicles the “Citizenship Schools,” a grassroots effort that laid the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement by empowering Black Southerners to register to vote through literacy and civics education.
October 27th at 6pm
Descendant (film)
Directed by Margaret Brown
A 2022 documentary film by Margaret Brown that tells the story of Africatown, Alabama, a community founded by the descendants of the last known enslaved Africans brought to the United States on the illegal slave ship Clotilda
Special date due to the holidays
December 1st at 6pm
Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Black Appalachian Culinary Heritage
by Crystal Wilkinson
A book that blends memoir, family stories, and recipes to explore the culinary heritage of Black Appalachians.
