It’s March! Let’s read and discuss “On White Violence, Black Survival, and Learning to Shoot,” by Kim McLarin

Sign up for our discussion on Sunday, March 27, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT

Hi Article Clubbers! Welcome to March.

Before revealing this month’s article, I would like to express my gratitude to Sara, Abby, Corinne, Toronzo, Peter, Jamie, Carina, Elise C, Elise S, Marcus, Abde, Shreya, Bonnie, and Lauri for participating in last Sunday’s discussion of “When Things Go Missing.” Special thanks go to Abby and Corinne — for joining Article Club for the very first time! — and to Toronzo, for facilitating for the first time. I’m also grateful to Kathryn Schulz, for her beautiful article. Also, congratulations to Shreya for winning a copy of Lost & Found.

I’m pleased to announce that this month, we’ll be reading “On White Violence, Black Survival, and Learning to Shoot,” by Kim McLarin. Originally published in The Sun Magazine last October, and featured in The Highlighter Issue #316, the article recounts Prof. McLarin’s experience as a Black woman participating in a gun-safety class. It is brilliantly written and moving.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece:

If a civil war breaks out, I say, if violent white mobs begin roaming the country as they have done in the past, I will not worry about precision shooting. I intend to sit on my porch with my legally acquired handgun and as much ammunition as I have and perhaps a bottle of Scotch and take them as they come.

“Are you afraid?” my husband asks. Only of my anger. Only of becoming like them. Is it possible to be angry without being violent? Is it possible to live in a violent society without becoming that way?

Prof. McLarin is the author of three critically-acclaimed novels, several essay collections and the bibilomemoir James Baldwin's Another Country: Bookmarked. She is co-author of Growing Up X by Ilyasah Shabazz. Her work has appeared in the New England Review, the Sewanee Review, The Sun Magazine, The Root, Slate, The Washington Post, The New York Times and many other publications. She is a former staff writer for The Associated Press, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The New York Times. She appears regularly on Basic Black, the longest running program on public television focusing on the interests of people of color, produced at WGBH. She holds a BA from Duke University and is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy. She is Professor of Creative Writing and Graduate Program Director of the MFA in Popular Fiction at Emerson College.

I hope you’ll join me and fellow Article Clubbers in discussing the piece on Sunday, March 27, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT! This event will be on Zoom and will be limited to 24 participants.

Are you IN?

I hope so! If so, here’s what to do:

1. Announce the good news by leaving a comment below.
   In a sentence or two, say hi and share why you’re interested.

2. Sign up for the discussion by clicking here.
   This will save your spot and tell me you’re committed to joining.

3. Start reading the article.
   Here’s the original, and here’s a shared version we can annotate together.

Coming up this month at Article Club

• This week: We’ll sign up for the discussion and start reading the article.

• Next week: We’ll annotate the article and share our first impressions.

• The week of March 21: We’ll listen to an interview with Ms. Schulz.

• Sunday, March 27: We’ll discuss the article with fellow Article Clubbers. Plus, I’ll raffle off one of Prof. McLarin’s books, Womanish: A Grown Black Woman Speaks on Love and Life.

Are you new to Article Club? If so, welcome! We look forward to meeting you and having your voice in the conversation. Feel free to reach out with questions: mark@highlighter.cc.