By: Luis Arjona Photo Courtesy of: Jeremiah Baldwin
With COVID-19 and constant newsbrcirculating, educating oneself can seem exhausting. By doing one’s best to staybrsafe during the pandemic, self-isolation has proven to be a time of increasedbrmedia consumption. With the Black Lives Matter movement making progress eachbrday, it is important to learn the history preceding our current moment in time.brDoing so will make strides to promote racial equity. Lucky for the CoastalbrBend, a Corpus Christi native has taken it upon himself to encourage people tobrlearn more about Black intellectualism by creating a virtual readingbrclub.
Jeremiah Baldwin is the creatorbrof Baldwin’s Reading Club inbrpartnership with Coffee Waves. This initiative exists as an outlet for himself,bras well as an educational opportunity for those who would like to learn more andbrengage in conversation centered around Black authors and intellectuals andbrtheir works. While speaking with Jeremiah, he mentions his parents being a bigbrpart of the inspiration for the reading club. He also believes this is an amazingbropportunity to cultivate a community that wants to learn and educate themselvesbrthrough Black literature.
When speaking more specificallybras to why he started Baldwin’sbrReading Club, Jeremiah mentioned the passing of his father, DonniebrRay Baldwin Sr. Jeremiah finds solace in reading the work of Blackbrauthors. Baldwin’s Reading Club is Jeremiah’s therapy and gift to us. He wrote more aboutbrthe purpose on his Instagram. An excerpt pulled from his announcement postbrdepicts the care and love Jeremiah has for his family and Baldwin’s Reading Club.
“I am beyond excited to announce the creation of Baldwin’s Reading Club via my Instagram account. Thebrconcept of reading has always been a passion of mine – I vividly rememberbrsitting in my dad’s lap and him teaching me my spelling words or him telling mebrbed stories.”
The post goes on to read, “Because of my dad (a Black man) being mybrfirst teacher, I am pursuing this reading project in honor. I am using my lastbrname, Baldwin, as the name of this project because Baldwin means access tobreducation for me. I hope to inspire all youth, especially Black youth, tobrexplore the readings of Black authors and intellectuals.”
“This project will help bridge that gap by featuring only Black authors,”brhe says.
Baldwin’sbrReading Club will run for thebrremainder of the summer and will feature three reading selections that will bebrnarrated. Jeremiah is also open to suggestions of works to be featured in thebrreading club.
Jeremiah provides graphics ofbrwhat Baldwin’s ReadingbrClub will be covering each week on his Instagrambr@jeremiah.baldwin. In addition to his weekly readings, he also recommendsbrvisiting the poetry of Maya Angelou, Freedombris a Constant Struggle: Ferguson,brPalestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Davis, and How We Get Free: Black Feminism and thebrCombahee River Collective edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, if you sobrdesire.
Baldwin’s Reading Club startedbron Saturday, June 20th, 2020. There will be a weekly session meeting onbrSaturdays from 7 pm – 9 pm on his Instagram live. Jeremiah Baldwin will bebrgoing over three new readings each week. The next reading club meeting will bebrJune 27th, 2020 at Coffee Waves on Alameda. This event will be privately held;brhowever, the following Saturday, July 4th, 2020 will be open to thebrpublic.
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We look forward to seeing thisbrcommunity grow and take influence in the Coastal Bend and beyond!
Instagram: @jeremiah.baldwin
Time of Event: Saturdays from 7brPM – 9 PM CST
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Location: Coffee Waves | 5738 SbrAlameda St, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
