CBA Record January-February 2024

Black History Month: Suggested Reading, and a Request for Your Recommendations

Curated by the CBA DICE Committee Diversity | Inclusion | Culture | Equity and Engagement

In celebration of Black History Month, the Record, with the help of the DICE Committee, has curated a list of sug gested reading to learn more about African American culture, traditions, and issues in our society. To support Presi dent Ray Koenig III’s 2024 bar year theme of inclusion, we ask you to send us your reading recommendations (100 words or less) to be published on CBA social media platforms during the month of February. Selections should enhance our members’ knowledge about literature, culture, or the important achievements of Black Americans. Send your review to CBARecord@chicagobar.org. — Nina Fain, DICE Co-Chair

YEAR OF YES: HOW TO DANCE IT OUT, STAND IN THE SUN AND BE YOUR OWN PERSON by Shonda Rhimes Year of Yes chronicles how Shonda Rhimes, Executive Producer of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, learned to say yes to opportunities that challenged her comfort zone. Her decision to make affirmative decisions in areas that seemed daunting propelled her to a career in entertainment not often achieved by Black women.

JUST US: AN AMERICAN CONVERSATION BY CLAUDIA RANKINE by Claudia Rankine

The author offers a new perspective on thinking about race, politics, differences, and the U.S. It asks difficult questions and helps us initiate the necessary conversations that can help us develop a more honest view of history to inform our future. Rankine invites readers to examine the concept of whiteness and breach the frequent silence, guilt, and violence that are by-products of Americans’ reluctance to accepting their past and instead stare with open- eyed honesty at the changes in the racial, ethnic, and gender make-up of our new world order.

32 JanuaryFebruary 2024