The Davis & Elkins College Upward Bound Program, in conjunction with the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), is set to begin its summer book club chapter that will include weekly discussions with community leaders. The Good Trouble Book Club: Engaging Youth in a National Conversation about the Future of America will focus on “Across That Bridge” by the late Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis.
In the book, Lewis draws from his experience as a prominent leader of the civil rights movement to offer timeless wisdom, poignant recollections and powerful principles for anyone interested in challenging injustices and inspiring real change toward a freer, more peaceful society.
As a component of Upward Bound’s virtual summer program, students in the Classic and Bridge programs will read the book and participate in the discussions over an eight-week period. Among those facilitating the discussions are Delegate Cody Thompson, D-Randolph, D&E Instructor of English Sebastian Williams and alumnus Cody Turner ’21, Upward Bound office assistant who is organizing the book club. Several other local and state elected officials are expected to participate as well. COE will also organize talks by nationally prominent individuals on themes from the book that the book club chapters will be able to attend virtually and engage in discussions with the speakers.
To kick off the book club, Upward Bound hosted a reception in Booth Library on the College campus and presented a copy of the work to the Assistant Director of Booth Library Mary Jo DeJoice. An e-book version is also available.
As an additional option, Upward Bound students may take part in a civic engagement project with the theme “Exploring Congressman John Lewis’ principles of ‘good trouble’ as a response to today’s social injustice.” COE will host a competition among these projects. A panel of community engagement experts will judge electronic poster presentations. Students from the winning book clubs will be invited to present virtually or onsite at the Council’s annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in September.
The D&E Upward Bound Program serves low-income and first-generation students from Randolph, Barbour, Tucker, Pendleton and Pocahontas counties in a variety of ways to prepare them for college.
