Human Library event held Sunday at Santa Fe College Blount Center in downtown Gainesville
Stories about overcoming challenges were on full display at this year’s Human Library event.
The event featured 10 volunteers, known as “human books,” who represented groups that have been subjected to discrimination, stigmatization or prejudice because of their diagnosis, lifestyle, social status, disability, ethnic origin or belief.
The human books talked about their experiences and responded to questions, and engaged with the audience, known as “readers” during the event held Sunday at Santa Fe College’s Blount Center in downtown Gainesville.
Sponsored by Altrusa International of Gainesville, a non-profit organization focused on community service, in collaboration with the International Human Library, Friends of the Library, Alachua County Library District and SF College.
This year’s theme was “Unjudge Someone.”
Attendees had the opportunity to challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue and went to three sessions to hear experiences from a human book.
“Having a small, interactive conversation edifies the readers and the books,” said Kimberly Browne, event chairperson. “I love the chance to delve into complex and complicated issues.”
The event was designed to create a safe space for dialogue, where experiences were discussed openly and in a respectful manner.
The “Pillars of Prejudice” represented by human books at this year’s event included immigrant, gender, victim, disabilities, sexual orientation, physical disabilities and mental health.
The 10 human books were Jacob Atem, Ph.D., Kane Barr, Latashia Brimm, David Ciulla, Phillip Cushman, Christine Errico, Tom Horton, Woo-Young King, Teda Kokoneshi and Eric Runnestrand.
“No matter where you go, it is important to understand someone’s perspective for them to get to know you,” Atem said. “This is an innovative idea that I am the book and focus on lived experiences because you hear from the author himself.”
Atem is one of the 30,000 Lost Boys of Sudan, and at the age of six, he was orphaned in the terror of the civil war and walked nearly 3,000 miles to refugee camps.
He resettled in the United States at the age of 15.
“When someone judges you, it’s up to you to accept it or not,” Atem said.
Horton is hearing impaired and shared how communication means a lot to him.
Growing up, he would hear the phrase, “Never mind, it’s not important,” when he asked someone to repeat what they said.
“That made me sad when they said that because I really wanted to know what they had to say,” Horton said.
Horton said he overcame bullying and a stuttering problem.
He also talked about the importance of having perseverance and determination to overcome challenges in life.
“Everything is about concentration and repetition,” Horton said. “Put in the work and you can be anything you want to be.”
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Volunteers serve as human books during Human Library event in G'ville
