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Mary Ann Key Book Club

A collaboration with columnist Myron Medcalf, the Mary Ann Key Book Club uses reading as a catalyst for conversation as we attempt to better understand past and current injustices – including systemic racism, other forms of discrimination, and bias that affects marginalized communities.

Recent events

A Community Discussion of 'Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning'

Columnist Myron Medcalf and moderator Lindsay Peifer host a virtual conversation with Asian American community leaders David Mura, Terri Thao and Anthea Yur. Panelists discuss "Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning" by Cathy Park Hong, the Asian American experience, and how individuals can dismantle racism and make real change for a better future. Recorded on November 2, 2021.

Watch the replay of our panel discussion about “Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning."

Books

Spring 2022

The Mary Ann Key Book Club will return for a third season. Sign up for the newsletter below and you’ll be first to hear about the next book title in early 2022.

Fall 2021

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

Spring 2021

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Newsletter

Get email updates with book club information, including discussion questions, events, and messages from Mr. Medcalf and others.

Subscribe to the Mary Ann Key Book Club newsletter

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Read previous issues

About the book club

The book club was inspired by a Star Tribune column written by Myron Medcalf – the great-great-great-grandson of Mary Ann Key.

“I’m honored to partner with Hennepin County Library to launch the Mary Ann Key Book Club, named after the matriarch of my family, who was a slave in Georgia in the 1850s. Purchased for $1,000 at the age of 14, Mary Ann Key persevered. Her body was in bondage, but slavery never stole the freedom of her heart, mind and soul. This book club is about focusing on the truths of the past, our challenges in the present and the possibilities of the future…” – Myron Medcalf

This program is supported by Friends of the Hennepin County Library. Their generous financial support is helping to provide greater access to print and eBook copies of the featured books.