Jackie Riffice, longtime resident of the Homewood-Flossmoor area who recently retired from the Flossmoor Community Relations Commission, announced the upcoming community book club, Books Without Borders, at the Homewood Village Board meeting on July 8. 

Riffice said the club will meet every other month to discuss a selected book. The first book on the agenda will be “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo. 

The book is primarily about race and privilege, including white privilege, Riffice said. 

She said The Rock Shop in Homewood will stock copies of the book for purchase. Inside each book will be a list of questions to ponder while reading, as well as key words and phrases to pay attention to, Riffice said. 

The first meeting will take place on Sept. 11, 2025, at The Rock Shop, 18109 Dixie Highway, from 6:45 to 8 p.m., she said. 

“Imagine open minds, diverse perspectives, and meaningful dialogue,” Riffice said, adding, “imagine finding all of the things we have in common.” 

Riffice says she’s been aspiring to create this club by Eric Crump, an editor at the Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle. 

She said Crump’s opinion column titled “Listening, learning are keys to fighting racism in our community” published on May 10 really caught her attention. 

“It was an eye-opening, attention-grabbing article, especially coming from a white guy,” Riffice said, adding, “he closed the article with this: ‘Defeating racism requires rewiring our culture, and that starts with reading and listening intently, intentionally and often. We’re in this together, so one thing we, as a community, can do is read more and read together.’”

She said that Books Without Borders will be a safe space to listen and connect, especially regarding race and community. 

“I want us to become as united and resilient as we can possibly be,” Riffice said, adding, “I hope you’ll consider joining me for this grand experiment.” 

People can follow Books Without Borders on Facebook and Instagram for updated information, she said.