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Department of Health and Social Services Library

Registration

D.R.I.V.E. (Diversity & Racial Inclusion Virtual Engagement) Book Discussions are held monthly over Teams. Book selections focus on issues of race and social justice. The book and/or theme(s) will be a jumping off point for discussions of ideas and experiences.

These discussions are limited to DHSS employees.

If you are interested in attending any or all of our discussion sessions,
please email the DHSS Library.
Once you are registered, you will receive an email from the library with a link to the virtual meeting.

Upcoming Titles & Dates

Upcoming Titles Dates

The Personal Librarian

by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

Click here to get this book from the library

April 15

May 20

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom

by Yeonmi Park with Maryanne Vollers

Click here to get this book from the library

June 17

July 15

All discussions are held over Teams from 12 to 1 pm.

D.R.I.V.E. Current Title

All books are available for free as either an eBook, audiobook, or print book with a Delaware Library card.
Click here to sign up online and get access to eBooks and audiobooks through the Libby App by Overdrive and hoopla.
Not sure if you have a library card? Email the DHSS Library and we can assist you!

Click on the image of a book below for a direct link to the book in the catalog.

Questions? Email the DHSS Library!

Past D.R.I.V.E Book Titles

Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A chorus of extraordinary voices tells the epic story of the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present--edited by Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire. FINALIST FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post, Town & Country, Ms. magazine, BookPage, She Reads, BookRiot, Booklist * "A vital addition to [the] curriculum on race in America . . . a gateway to the solo works of all the voices in Kendi and Blain's impressive choir."--The Washington Post   "From journalist Hannah P. Jones on Jamestown's first slaves to historian Annette Gordon-Reed's portrait of Sally Hemings to the seductive cadences of poets Jericho Brown and Patricia Smith, Four Hundred Souls weaves a tapestry of unspeakable suffering and unexpected transcendence."--O: The Oprah Magazine The story begins in 1619--a year before the Mayflower--when the White Lion disgorges "some 20-and-odd Negroes" onto the shores of Virginia, inaugurating the African presence in what would become the United States. It takes us to the present, when African Americans, descendants of those on the White Lion and a thousand other routes to this country, continue a journey defined by inhuman oppression, visionary struggles, stunning achievements, and millions of ordinary lives passing through extraordinary history.  Four Hundred Souls is a unique one-volume "community" history of African Americans. The editors, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, have assembled ninety brilliant writers, each of whom takes on a five-year period of that four-hundred-year span. The writers explore their periods through a variety of techniques: historical essays, short stories, personal vignettes, and fiery polemics. They approach history from various perspectives: through the eyes of towering historical icons or the untold stories of ordinary people; through places, laws, and objects. While themes of resistance and struggle, of hope and reinvention, course through the book, this collection of diverse pieces from ninety different minds, reflecting ninety different perspectives, fundamentally deconstructs the idea that Africans in America are a monolith--instead it unlocks the startling range of experiences and ideas that have always existed within the community of Blackness.  This is a history that illuminates our past and gives us new ways of thinking about our future, written by the most vital and essential voices of our present.

Additional Resources

D.R.I.V.E. Committee Members

  • Evelyn Hudson, DHSS Library
  • Kisha Skipwith-Williams, DSSC
  • Tanya Warner, OSEC
  • Michelle Wynne-Feigin, DHSS Library