On January 4, 2021, the Worcester County Library announced it was selected as a recipient of a "Read Woke" $1,000 Beanstack Black Voices Microgrant. The news release said, "We’re excited to share this news and what it means for our community! The library has created a Teen Reading Challenge on Beanstack and will use the grant money to provide prizes. Participating teens will select books to read by authors from a variety of backgrounds, highlighting the rich diversity of the American experience."

Worcester County Commissioner Chip Bertino was asked to look into the "Read Woke" program by a constituent over concerns the grant money was coming from a political action organization. Beanstack Black Voices Microgrants, according to their website, is, "In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement." Bertino did bring up the issue and was taken to task and mocked in local papers for even suggesting the Commissioners should look into the "Read Woke" program.

Bertino says he does not oppose the books being in the library but adds, "I believe libraries should serve all, but libraries should not advocate a political message or agenda."

Left unsaid in all the discussion of the "Read Woke" program is what is actually in the reading material. The issue here is not about prohibiting books, rather about what books should be actively promoted by our library system for young readers.

There are about 90 books on the Read Woke list.

Let's take a look at a few of the actual titles and publisher descriptions of books on the Read Woke list:

"A quick & easy guide to they/them pronouns" -- Archie, a snarky genderqueer artist, is tired of people not understanding gender-neutral pronouns. Tristan, a cisgender dude, is looking for an easy way to introduce gender-neutral pronouns to his increasingly diverse workplace. The longtime best friends team up in this short and fun comic guide that explains what pronouns are, why they matter, and how to use them. They also include what to do if you make a mistake, and some tips-and-tricks for those who identify outside of the binary to keep themselves safe in this binary-centric world.

"If I was your girl" -- Amanda Hardy only wants to fit in at her new school, but she is keeping a big secret, so when she falls for Grant, guarded Amanda finds herself yearning to share with him everything about herself, including her previous life as Andrew.

"Let's talk about love" -- In this young adult novel, Alice, afraid of explaining her asexuality, has given up on finding love until love finds her. Alice's last girlfriend, Margo, ended things when Alice confessed she's asexual. Now Alice is sure she's done with dating ... and then she meets Takumi. She can't stop thinking about him or the rom-com-grade (romantic comedy) romance feelings she did not ask for. When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library-employee badge, Alice has to decide if she's willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated-- or understood.

"LGBTQ+ athletes claim the field : striving for equality" -- Social attitudes, institutional policies, and laws are slow to change, but they are catching up. Title IX legislation outlaws discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The National Collegiate Athletic Association has antidiscrimination policies that support LGBTQ+ inclusion at all levels. Together, athletes, coaches, families, educators, allies, and fans are pushing for competitive equity so that every athlete, regardless of sexual and gender identity, can have the opportunity to play at their very best.

"I wish you all the best" -- When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents' rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile for the last half of senior year in a new school. Then fellow student Nathan Allan decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan's friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change. It might just be a chance to start a happier new life.

"Girl made of stars" -- When Mara's twin brother Owen is accused of rape by her friend Hannah, Mara is forced to confront her feelings about her family, her sense of right and wrong, a trauma from her past, and the future with her girlfriend, Charlie.

Just what is "woke" all about? From Merriam-Webster: "Stay woke became a watch word in parts of the black community for those who were self-aware, questioning the dominant paradigm and striving for something better. But stay woke and woke became part of a wider discussion in 2014, immediately following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The word woke became entwined with the Black Lives Matter movement; instead of just being a word that signaled awareness of injustice or racial tension, it became a word of action. Activists were woke and called on others to stay woke."

"The scholar Rudine Sims Bishop famously said that books for young readers should be both mirrors and windows,” says Assistant Worcester Library Director Rachael Stein. “They should reflect the experiences of the reader and also provide a glimpse into unfamiliar cultural worlds. The aim of this project is to offer teens those mirrors and windows, and to encourage them to look into as many new worlds as they can."

Cicely Lewis, award winning librarian and creator of the Read Woke movement wrote, "Read Woke is a movement. It means arming yourself with knowledge in order to better protect your rights. Knowledge is power and no one can take it away. It means learning about others so that you can treat people with the respect and dignity that they deserve no matter their religion, race, creed, or color."

Are the books designed to support a particular political group's perspective? That is a judgment call. To repeat - the issue here is not about prohibiting books, rather about what books should be actively promoted by our library system for young readers.

Book-seller company Mackin said, "Incorporating diverse stories and incentive-based learning during an era of DACA repeal, a Muslim ban, and the Black Lives Matter movement empowered students and created a culture of reading at one school.... Learn creative ways to decolonize your reading list."

Perhaps the real question is - Where is the balance?

The library says the Read Woke reading challenge highlights "the rich diversity of the American experience." The simple fact is, it highlights a very narrow portion of America's rich diversity and is funded by an entity supporting a political agenda.

Maybe it is time for students, and adults, to again examine what the total American experience is all about. Time to again become "woke" to the incredible good that is America. Incredible good - hidden by the recent total focus on any and all shortcomings.

As for Bertino? Ignoring controversy is easy. Bertino should be thanked and applauded for having the political courage to at least look into constituent concerns on the Read Woke program.