On one rainy spring morning in Muncie, Indiana, a middle-aged, white. and conservative woman met with a transgender woman on a date.
The date didn’t have a good start.
The transgender woman waited at a table when the other woman appeared. She got up and extended her hand to the woman, but she refused to shake her hand.
Still standing, the woman who came in told the other one that she’s a conservative Christian to which the transgender woman replied that she’s a liberal Christian and that it would be good if they have a conversation.
A Weird Start, but an Enjoyable Conversation
The date was supposed to last half an hour; however, it was so interesting for both women so it ended up lasting a whole hour.
At the end of their conversation, the conservative woman stood up and hugged the transgender woman. She thanked her and told her she had a wonderful date.
This otherwise low likelihood date was enabled by the Human Library. This non-profit platform for learning gives people a unique chance to “borrow” humans rather than books. However, these aren’t just any people.
Every “book” from this library is a group that is facing prejudice or stigmas because of their ethnicity, lifestyle, disability, or benefits.
For example, some of the humans who can be “borrowed” are alcoholics, Muslims, homeless people, or people who’ve gone through sexual abuse.
The platform organizes in-person and online events where they expect, appreciate, and try to give answers to difficult questions. According to the organizers, they motivate people to try and unjudge a book by the covers.
And, their setup creates some of the least likely pairings. Once, a feminist met a Muslim woman wearing a hijab and she asked her if she wears it because she wants to or because she has to.
Another meeting included a person who thinks global warming is fake and an activist for climate change. And, they also had a supporter of Donald Trump meet with a black antiracist activist.
A Dream Turned into Reality: Necessary Today more than ever
According to the transgender woman Charlizer Jamieson who met with the liberal Christian, she agreed to become a “book” in this library because she wants to inspire empathy. For years, she denied who she was while working for corporate America.
She explains that people tend to form opinions based on others’ opinions and what they hear on the news. When you get in front of each other, there’s an opportunity to file off all those rough edges.
The Human Library was founded by Ronni Abergel, a human rights activist from Denmark and a journalist, 21 years ago. He became interested in non-violent activism after a friend of his with a troubled youth got stabbed in Copenhagen.
Born and raised in Denmark, Abergel lived in the US as an exchange student and noticed how partisan the political climate became.
He was curious if a human library may help bring divided people together like a traditional one is able to. In his library, unconventional and stigmatized individuals are treated like books.
Readers can borrow them, ask them different questions, and learn something new, with the goal to become more understanding and challenge their perceptions of the world.
The Human Library Grew to Become a Bestseller
The platform has organized such events in more than 80 countries, including schools, festivals, museums, and libraries.
More than 1000 human books have circulated throughout their project and conversations have been led in more than 50 languages.
For Abergel, this library has an urgent mission because people are growing more divided by political beliefs, social media bubbles, and demagogues.
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