Students Foster Inclusivity and Forge New Bonds at Second Annual "One Book, One Léman" Book Day

January 04, 2021

On Wednesday, December 2nd, Léman's entire Upper School participated in Book Day. This year marked the second annual Book Day and our third year continuing our "One Book, One Léman" tradition, an annual initiative that fosters inclusivity, encourages the respect of diverse opinions and cultures, forges new bonds, and strengthens relationships with one another.

The day opened with a keynote speech by Clint Smith, a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Counting Descent, which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award.

Following the keynote, Middle and High School students participated in workshops and lectures based on Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah, the story of a young boy growing up in South Africa during Apartheid. Trevor Noah was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when this was prohibited by racist Apartheid laws. The wide and varied themes in the book include racism, oppression, resilience, family, identity, and language. The workshops, which were led by Léman faculty and students as well as special guests, focused on a wide range of topics including The 'Science' of Racism, Identity and the Media, South African Choral Music as Protest and Reconciliation, and The Adultification of Black Youth.