In the aftermath of the tragic event of September 11, 2001, Tacoma educator Patrick Erwin sought a way to bring the Tacoma community together to talk about the issues which appeared to keep the community apart. Remembering What if all Seattle read the same book?, a project begun by Seattle’s Nancy Pearl, Erwin met with Mayor Mike Crowley and others to suggest that perhaps Tacomans should be encour
aged to come together to read, reflect upon, and then respond to the ideas and issues raised by one good book – one book which the entire community would be encouraged to read and discuss. This citywide community initiative, now in its 9th year, chose Harper Lee’s classic To Kill A Mockingbird for its first book. In the following years, the community was encouraged to read and discuss Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Julia Alvarez’s How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus and Arthur Miller's powerful play, The Crucible. Each book is selected by the Mayor for the opportunities it presents to the Tacoma community to discuss critical community issues. These issues included racism and discrimination, the balance between the needs of the individual versus the rights of the State, immigration and cultural assimilation, and the ever-increasing role of science in our lives. The book selection (and the variety of programs that are scheduled for the first three months of each year) offers city residents an opportunity to come together with their friends and neighbors and talk.
