SFPL annually celebrates Black History Month. But 2022, with the specter of COVID ever present in our minds and in recognition of the real traumas faced by our African America community, the time was right to use our commitment to community connection, information and access to bring about services, programs and creative endeavors that would promote healing and resilience. This robust series developed by librarians aligned closely with the library’s race equity work.

SFPL librarians developed 30+ virtual and in-person programs and embedded health and wellness in the citywide book club, Yoke: My Yoga of Self Acceptance by Jessamyn Stanley. Other offerings: meditation classes with disability rights activist Dennis Billups in SFPL’s African American Center, a Department of Public Health a panel discussion on Black Health in San Francisco, and noting the connection between wellness and creativity, a crochet jam with a local artist.

The entire series led to renewed energy and greater attendance at public programs and a recognition of the community’s desire for meditation and yoga classes. The development of these programs in connection with the Library’s racial equity efforts also led to the nascent development of a library podcasting initiative that centers storytelling at its heart, in an effort to lead to better empathy and healing in our community.