“Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes.”

This famous quotation has been voiced over the centuries in many forms — from Marcus Aurelius in his Medications“Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?” to Harper Lee’s Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”   As Ranjna Das, Director of the BCLS noted in her latest email message, “the library has always been a place to learn and share experiences, and this is more vital now than ever before.”

Your webmaster rememberers a required-reading book from her high school list.  With the passing of its 50th anniversary in 2011, this classic, nonfiction story continues to remain relevant.  I suggest reading Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin.  See this Smithsonian Magazine review for more information.

May we share love, respect, and empathy to all during this challenging time.

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About Pat Solin

Patricia Smith Solin worked with her son, Michael, on creating posts and maintaining the technical aspects of the RFL Association website & Facebook posts. She was the school librarian for 10 years at Riverton Public School (NJ) and contributes articles for the Gaslight News, the official publication of the Historical Society of Riverton.