SRV Reading Circle: The Nickel Boys

Each year the SRV Leadership Group, along with the Keystone Institute, hosts a series of short study sessions aimed at examining the principles of SRV in an informal and relaxed learning format. The 2024 series will take the form of a reading circle, exploring print media, books, articles, and even children’s books. Each session will focus on a selected reading which participants will be provided with and have time to read beforehand. We will meet for lively discussion and deep analysis of the material through an SRV lens. Please join us for what is sure to be a thought-provoking series of events.

Please join the Keystone Institute for a Reading Circle Session to discuss the remarkable book The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. This book launches the Keystone Institute’s SRV Study Group series for 2024 taking the form of a Reading Circle. The Nickel Boys is a fictional story of a reform school for boys in the Jim Crow era south, though it is based on the historic Dozier School. This powerful book explores the themes of devaluation and their brutal effects on the lives of the young boys whose lives it chronicles.

As part of the Reading Circle, we will provide you with the book, give you ample time to read it, and then we will gather to discuss the book, its contents, themes, and how it relates to the dynamics of Social Role Valorization. The Nickel Boys is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and is sure to cause us to consider deeply the ramifications of segregation and congregation, heightened vulnerability of a marginalized group, brutalization, and the restorative power of valued social roles. Join the facilitators Shonna Stevens, Ernie Jose, L. Danyetta Najoli, and Matthew Nguyen for this meaningful and participatory event. Due to the in-depth exploration of SRV topics and themes, prior attendance to a full 28-hour in-person workshop or 32-hour online workshop is necessary to attend this event.

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