Mary Ann Key Book Club

A collaboration with columnist Myron Medcalf, the Mary Ann Key Book Club uses reading as a catalyst for intercultural conversations around understanding and addressing past and current injustices that impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

2025 season

Save the date!

Our next season is coming soon! The 2025 season will center on conversations related to the stories and experiences of those who hold intersecting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ identities. The title will be announced on Saturday, February 1, 2025.

The author talk will be held on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 6:30pm at Minneapolis Central Library.

Print copies of the book and immediate access to the ebook and downloadable audiobook will be available on February 1.


Events

Author talk

Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 6:30 p.m.
Minneapolis Central Library


More season program details coming in February 2025.


Recent events

Replay the discussion from the 2024 season.

Recorded May 20, 2024: Moderator Minister JaNaé Bates and community panelists Marvin Haynes, Moseka Nhya and Kevin Reese discuss Anthony Ray Hinton’s “The Sun Does Shine.”


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

You will receive an email confirmation that your sign-up was successful and will not be enrolled in any other newsletters by submitting the form.

Read previous issues


Previous books

Replay past Mary Ann Key Book Club programs on Hennepin County Library's YouTube channel.

Resources for reading, listening and learning

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. Media partner: Star Tribune.