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Peoria Reads! announces next book selection

This year’s Peoria Reads! selection honors the many 50th anniversary milestones of the Civil Rights era. The community reading project is inviting people to read Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High.

Roberta Koscielski is with the Peoria Public Library, a partner agency for Peoria Reads! She says they chose the book as the country commemorates the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement. Koscielski says there are plenty of ways for everyone to get involved including an abridged version of the book for students: 

"If you're a member of a book club, contact Connie at Common Place or Roberta at the (Peoria Public) library. We can try to get copies of the book for your book club. Same thing if you're a teacher, we can possible provide classroom sets. We'll be showing films at the library at Bradley (and) at the Apollo Theater. And keep watching our website which is PeoriaReads http://PeoriaReads.com for information about events and other tie-in books to read."

Warriors Don’t Cry author Melba Beals, was one of the first nine students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. That was as a result of a Supreme Court case that ruled state segregation of schools unconstitutional. 

This is the 13th anniversary of the one book one community reading project.