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 see the full schedule.
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.
