On the second Tuesday of every month we will be hosting Teen Social Justice League conversation from 6 – 7:30 p.m. on Zoom. The purpose of the league is to open important conversations about social justice issues in our community. We know that teens in Brampton have so much to contribute, especially when given the right platform. We reflect back on the TeenTalk conversations the library facilitated in May and again this October that touch on some of these themes. Think of the Teen Social Justice League as an extension of these conversations, but within a space devoted entirely to teens.

You don’t have to be a big reader to join. We can chat about these subjects generally, and we can refer to a variety of books, articles, pamphlets, movies or TV shows that you have come across on the topic. Below you’ll find a list of resources that you might find helpful in opening the conversation for each month’s topic.

September 13: Accessibility

Here is a list of topics and some great YA novels about accessibility:

• ADHD / Dyslexia: A List of Cages by Robin Roe
• Amputation: A Time Dance by Padma Venkatraman 
• Autism: Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
• Chronic Illness: When My Heart Joins the Thousand by A. J. Steiger
• Bipolar Disorder: For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig
• Blindness: Graceling: The Graphic Novel by Kristin Cashore, Illustrated by Gareth Hinds

Here are a couple of articles or publications from PressReader that highlight accessibility:

• IN Sights (Sept 2019): Are the Robots Coming?
• Sports Illustrated (features various articles on accessibility in sports)

Here are some fantastic films and documentaries on accessibility that you can find on Kanopy:

• A Cerebral Game: A Filmmaker with Cerebral Palsy & His Love of Baseball
• Deaf Jam: is the story of deaf teen Aneta Brodski's bold journey into the spoken word slam scene. In a wondrous twist, Aneta, an Israeli immigrant living in the Queens section of New York City, eventually meets Tahani, a hearing Palestinian slam poet. The two women embark on a collaboration/performance duet creating a new form of slam poetry that speaks to both the hearing and the Deaf.
• Neurotypical: A Film About Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
• The Key of G: Disability, Caregiving and Interdependence
• Wheelchair Diaries: One Step Up: An Exploration of the Lack of Handicapped Accessibility in Europe

October 11: Gender Equality

Register for the meeting by clicking this link.

Here is a list of some great YA novels that highlight the need for equality:

• Internment by Samira Ahmed
• The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
• Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell & Katie Cotugno
• Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu (also a Netflix movie)
• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
• Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Natasha Donovan

Here are a few articles or publications from PressReader that highlight women:

• Boston Sunday Globe (Sept. 2022): Stretched and Stressed: Nurses are Facing Multiple Crises
• Business Chief (Feb. 2022): When You Empower Women You Empower Communities and Nations
• Business Update (Aug. 2022): Time for SA Women to Rise
• Communicate (April 2022): Women to Watch: 2022
• I am Woman Global (Sept. 2022)
• Lady Global Power (Sept. 2022)
• Oil and Gas (Sept. 2022): Taking Charge: How Women and Young Talent Are Shaping the Future of the Industry

Check out these films on Kanopy, which speak about gender divides and emphasize the need for equality:

• The Big Flip: Stories From the Modern Homefront
• The Codes of Gender: Identity & Performance in Popular Culture
• The Double Burden: Three Generations of Working Mothers
• Gender Trouble
• Miss Representation
• Wonder Women

November 8: Compassion

Here is a list of some great YA novels that discuss compassion:

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (also a movie)
• Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
• Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
• Wrong Side of the Court by H.N. Khan
• Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan
• Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith

Here are a few articles or publications from PressReader that emphasize the need for compassion:

• Newsweek (Sept. 2022): China’s Bid to Control the World’s Data
• NZ Business (May 2020): How to Deal with Bullying in Your Workplace
• The Guardian Weekly (August 2022): Six Months of War in Ukraine 
• Global Asia (June 2022): How Russia’s War Impacts Asia
• National Post ( 6 September 2022): It Was a War Zone

Here are some films on Kanopy that emphasize the need for compassion:

• bell hooks: Cultural Criticism & Transformation
• Bullying Cultures: The Social and Psychological Dynamics of Bullying
• Constructing the Terrorist Threat: Islamophobia, The Media & The War on Terror
• Difficult People and Situations: Bullying and Harassment
• Radical Ideas in Justice and Regulation
• Social Animals: The Real and Digital Worlds of Today’s Teenagers
• Stuart Hall: Representation & the Media