From the Trenches
Inheriting the Trade
by DeWolf, Thomas Norman
Published by: Beacon Press
The Experience
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From Oregon to Oklahoma (via Facebook and Skype)
It began with a friend request on Facebook. I clicked on her name to see who “Mana” was. We share a friend in common (anti-racist author and educator Tim Wise). Mana works at the YWCA—an organization committed to “eliminating racism and empowering women.” I clicked on “confirm” and wrote to her about what I perceived as our common interests.
Originally, I did not want to sign on to Facebook. My friend and booking agent Jennifer Carr (with Borderline Media in Brooklyn) recommended that I do so. She patiently explained (well, not so patiently, actually), “You need a Facebook page, Tom. If you believe in your message you need to take advantage of every opportunity. Social networking will make a huge difference.”
I hesitated. Jennifer didn’t. She set up a Facebook page for me as well as a group page for my book, Inheriting the Trade (see in “Book List”). Thankfully, in hindsight, she isn’t all that patient sometimes. Several weeks later she sent me a message. “You look awfully lonely here with me as your only friend.” I began to pay more attention to Facebook. I gained friends. I learned how valuable it could be as an outreach tool. In these financially challenging times I’ve learned just how effective social networking can be in reaching new readers.
My new friend Mana wrote that the YWCA’s Discussions on Race Book Club was, at the moment, reading Inheriting the Trade which is why she searched for me on Facebook. In fact, their meeting to discuss the book was coming up in just a few days.
My schedule was open the evening of their meeting so I offered to join them via telephone if she was interested. Or if they wanted to develop a list of questions I could respond to via e-mail. Mana suggested Skype. I had played around with Skype sometime in 2007 to speak with my grandson but haven’t used it since. I downloaded the latest version to my laptop and tested it with the meeting host in Oklahoma. Success!
I speak regularly at colleges, universities, and other venues around the country. I believe that the more time we spend together—physically present with each other—deepening relationships, communicating about issues that matter, the better chance we have at living in a more just and peaceful world. But we simply can’t be everywhere we’d like to be—physically—all the time. I’m in the midst of a “virtual book tour” that will take me to more than a dozen websites and blogs, including here at BookZillion. This tour is connecting me with many new people I may not have otherwise reached.
And I have a new Facebook friend in Oklahoma (several now, actually, as I write these words).
Sitting in my living room in Oregon I spent close to an hour and a half with a living room full of readers in Tulsa talking about the importance of dialogue in the healing process, visiting slave dungeons in Ghana, how historic trauma continues to impact us today, the significance of the cover image for Inheriting the Trade, the importance of “place” in understanding and healing from harm, and the hope that we’ll all meet in person one of these days.
I will reach out to colleges and universities in Oklahoma. I’m confident that I’ll visit—in person—my new friends in Tulsa in the not-too-distant future. Nothing can replace the significance of being together as people as we acknowledge and confront significant challenges such as racism and other forms of injustice. But in the meantime, in addition to, as an alternative, when it just ain’t possible at the moment to be together physically, thank goodness for the amazing technology that allows us to see and speak to each other—literally as well as virtually.
I hope to participate in many more Skype calls with reading clubs in the future. And I’m always looking for more Facebook friends, particularly those who love to read.