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NC Reads @ WFHM | Game Changers
March 27 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
About NC Reads at the Wake Forest Historical Museum
North Carolina Reads is a statewide book club exploring issues of racial, social, and gender equality and the history and culture of North Carolina. North Carolina Humanities is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. All five books chosen in 2023 pose critical questions about how North Carolinians view their role in helping to form a more just and inclusive society.
The Wake Forest Historical Museum is one of many community groups across North Carolina that host a local, on-site program of their own to accompany NC Humanities’ virtual events. Each month, we’ll meet at the museum to discuss a book and join people across the state in watching a live conversation with the author and subject-matter experts.
This is a great chance to meet neighbors who share your interest in the history and culture of North Carolina! At the heart of North Carolina Reads is NC Humanities’ desire to connect communities through shared reading experiences. Reading is important because it helps develop critical-thinking skills; strengthens minds, vocabulary, and mental health; and creates opportunities to empathize with others’ stories and experiences.
NC Humanities has graciously given the museum a very limited number of free books that will be available to participants. When registering please note if you would like to be considered for one of these books. Books can also be purchased from our local bookstore, Page158 Books, or checked out from Wake County Libraries.
If you have any questions, please email Sarah Soleim at soleims@wfu.edu.
March 27, 2023 | Game Changers: Dean Smith, Charlie Scott, and the Era that Transformed a Southern College Town by Art Chansky
About the Book
Non-Fiction. Among many legendary episodes from the life and career of men’s basketball coach Dean Smith, few loom as large as his recruitment of Charlie Scott, the first African American scholarship athlete at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Drawn together by college basketball in a time of momentous change, Smith and Scott helped transform a university, a community, and the racial landscape of sports in the South. But there is much more to this story than is commonly told. In Game Changers, Art Chansky reveals an intense saga of race, college sport, and small-town politics. At the center were two young men, Scott and Smith, both destined for greatness but struggling through challenges on and off the court, among them the storms of civil rights protest and the painfully slow integration of a Chapel Hill far less progressive than its reputation today might suggest.
“”More than just a fan fest, Game Changers reminds us of the tough road toward civil rights this state had to follow. It also shows how athletics can steer popular culture, often for the good.”—Ben Steelman, Wilmington Star-News
About the Meeting
Participants will meet at the Wake Forest Historical Museum on Monday, March 27, 2023. The live-streamed author conversation begins at 6:30 PM in the auditorium. After the live stream, museum staff will lead participants in a small group conversation about the book. Participants need not have finished the book to participate. Feel free to arrive early to visit with fellow readers or browse the exhibit gallery. Refreshments will be served.
How to Get a Copy of the Book
The museum has a very limited supply of free books for participants. Please indicate your interest in the book below.
Carolina Built is available through Wake County Public Libraries (WCPL).
Paperback and hardcover copies of Game Changers can be purchased from Page 158 Books, our local bookstore. Please let the store know that you are participating in the museum’s book club to receive a special discount. If you are in the local area, the bookstore can deliver orders of $20 or more to these zip codes: 27587 and 27571. They also offer curbside pickup 11 am-6 pm Monday thru Saturday, and Books can be shipped to your home.
NC Reads at WFHM is supported by North Carolina Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, nchumanities.org.
Any views, findings, conclusions, opinions, or recommendations expressed do not necessarily represent those of NC Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.