November 3, 2004

Book group at Black Cultural Center to talk about 'Family'

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue's Black Cultural Center will sponsor a student-led book discussion on J. California Cooper's "Family," a book about the ghost of a former enslaved woman.

The discussion, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 in the cultural center library at 1100 Third St.

Keneshia Buggs, an undergraduate student majoring in accounting, will lead the discussion. A native of Gary, Ind., Buggs works as a library aide in the BCC library.

"Cooper’s narrating style of writing quickly captures the reader and draws them into the story," says Dorothy Washington, BCC librarian. "The novel stays with you long after you put it down."

Cooper has published four novels and collections of short stories. "Family," which is her first novel, has been called an often painfully graphic recreation of the realities of enslavement, but also a triumphant story of a mother whose spirit allows her to watch over her children and grandchildren.

Copies of "Family" are available for checkout in the Black Cultural Center library. For more information, contact Washington, (765) 494-3093, or see the BCC Reads Web site.

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Source: Dorothy Washington, (765) 494-3093, dwashing2@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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