Imagine a different kind of library, one where you check out people instead of books. That's what happened in Gainesville yesterday. Sixty of us descended upon the Cone Branch Library in East Gainesville. It was our city's first "human library".
Eight local volunteers joined us to represent the "books". Each was an "author" with a unique story to tell. They were dispersed into different corners of the library so they could address us in small groups.
Each attendee chose three of the eight authors. They all had different stories to share. Every twenty minutes we would shift from one location to another to hear from the next person.
The storytellers had experienced discrimination as a result of their ethnicity, religion, immigration experience, abuse, mental health problems, and gender. After sharing their stories we were encouraged to ask questions. It was a unique opportunity to step out of our comfort zones, to learn about the lives of others.
A BLACK MAN'S PLIGHT
The first "book" we checked out was Anthony Pierce, a manager in our local school system. As a 
black man growing up in a small, central Florida town, he spent a lot of time dealing with prejudice, bias, and stereotypes.
Me and my new friend, Anthony
SCHIZOPHRENIA
Twenty minutes later Francesca and I met with a woman who's son committed suicide four years ago. At the age of twenty, "schizophrenia hit him like a freight train" she said. Despite her family's best efforts to help, the GHS grad took his life two years later. She asked us to use her family's devastating experience to get a better understanding of those suffering from mental illness.
THE LOST BOYS
Two and a half million people were killed in Sudan's Civil War thirty years ago. Two of them were the parents of Jacob Atem. Orphaned at the age of seven, he joined 20,000 young men who had no where to go. They became known as "The Lost Boys of Sudan". As internally displaced persons they walked 2000 miles to eventually get to migrant camps in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Dr. Jacob Atem, one of Sudan's Lost Boys, speaking to his first group.
Half of them died -or were killed- along the way. After eight years Jacob was accepted into a program that allowed 3,800 of the Lost Boys to emigrate to America. He landed in a Michigan foster home.
Five month later terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. He thought it was a terrible thing but, as he said, "It all happened in one morning. I saw explosions, death, and destruction all around me for years".
Jacob spoke no English when he arrived. He thought the apple juice they were giving him was urine and the salads, grass. He adjusted well enough to eventually get a PhD from Johns Hopkins. He now works in public health here.
The three people we spent time with represented anyone you might pass on a Gainesville sidewalk. Thanks to the Human Library we got to stop and hear their stories.
Yesterday's event was created by Altrusa of Gainesville (a local civic club) in cooperation with our county's library system. It took ten months of hard work to put it together. There are human libraries in 80 countries now. You can get more information at "humanlibrary.org". Their website says they are, "a library of people. We host events where readers can borrow human beings serving as open books and have conversations they would not normally have access to".
Yesterday's library was a wonderful, well-run event. We so appreciate Altrusa's effort. We left wishing we had the time to have heard the other five speakers as well.
I spend most of my life hanging out with people like myself. It's good to break out of routines by doing things like ...visiting human libraries.
You might come to Altrusa's next one, or, create an experience yourself. Introduce yourself to a stranger. Good things might happen.
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