Cynthia Hurd was a librarian. She once said, "Your whole reason for being there is to help people. I like helping people find answers." Cynthia Hurd was shot and killed, along with eight fellow members of Mother Emanuel, on June 17th, 2015. They were killed because of the color of their skin.

Catherine, a Varnum patron, will share a personal connection to the Charleston Shooting and will lead a discussion on privilege, power, racism, and ally-ship - especially what that might look like in our own community. We will read excerpts from books about the Charleston massacre, as well as read one of Cynthia's recommended children's books. We will look at what the Cynthia Graham Hurd foundation is doing for literacy and how we can best support our children to read and end racism.

Catherine Cadden is an author and educator working locally and worldwide in the field of nonviolence, mindfulness, and education. When not working on the frontlines, Catherine can be found farming at Wild! Heart Farm in the beautiful green mountains of N'dakinna, the unceded territory of the Abenaki Nation.