{"Feature":[{"Photos":[{"Id":120040,"Name":"1607536MichiganLawFellows-web.jpg","ArticleId":1607536,"Description":"","IsMainPhoto":false,"Ordering":0}],"id":1607536,"location_id":1,"title":"Four Michigan Law graduates selected for the 2026 Fiske Fellowship Program for Government Service","summary":"
Since its founding in 2001, the Robert B. Fiske Jr. Fellowship Program \r\nfor Government Service has annually recognized up to four Michigan Law \r\ngraduates who serve as government lawyers. The 2026 class of Fiske \r\nFellows was recently selected, welcoming Henry Evans, ’26, Gina \r\nGasparotto, ’26, Graham Hardig, ’26, and Taylor Hopkins, ’24, into a \r\nspecial community of nearly 90 Michigan Law alumni.
","text":"
Michigan Law graduates (l-r) Henry Evans, ’26, Gina Gasparotto, ’26, Taylor Hopkins, ’24, and Graham Hardig, ’26, at this year’s annual Fiske Fellowship dinner.

By Annie Hagstrom
Michigan Law


Since its founding in 2001, the Robert B. Fiske Jr. Fellowship Program for Government Service has annually recognized up to four Michigan Law graduates who serve as government lawyers. The 2026 class of Fiske Fellows was recently selected, welcoming Henry Evans, ’26, Gina Gasparotto, ’26, Graham Hardig, ’26, and Taylor Hopkins, ’24, into a special community of nearly 90 Michigan Law alumni.

The three-year fellowship, established by Robert B. Fiske Jr., ’55, HLLD ’97, enables law graduates to pursue government service positions by easing their debt burden. Each Fiske Fellow receives a $10,000 first-year cash stipend and debt repayment assistance, which is used to cover all required loan payments, not merely those pertaining to the cost of law school education. Fellowship eligibility is open to third-year Law School students, recent graduates serving in clerkships, and those in their first year of post-graduate government employment.

Fiske, who served as US attorney for the Southern District of New York in addition to a long career in private practice, believed in and exemplified the value of government service. This class of Fiske Fellows is the first since his death on December 4, 2025, at the age of 94. 

“The Fiske Fellowship is such an amazing gift to Michigan Law students who want to pursue public service careers,” said Emily Bretz, ’11, public interest director for Michigan Law’s Office of Career Planning. “Bob Fiske had an incredible career in and out of government, and this fellowship represents his strong belief that government service makes you a better lawyer and a better person. We will miss Bob immensely, but he has left behind a wonderful legacy, continuing to support public interest students even after he is gone.

“Our four fellows this year demonstrate how important it is to have caring, thoughtful people in government roles. Three of them are working at State Attorney Generals’ Offices, fighting to protect the environment and doing critical work to promote environmental justice. The fourth is doing necessary work at the intersection of AI and national security, trying to make the world a safer place. I’m so excited to see where their careers take them and grateful for their commitment to work on behalf of the public.”

Get to know this year’s fellows:

—————

Henry Evans, ’26, received the Justice Gregory Hobbs Jr. Fellowship to work for one year in the Natural Resources and Environmental Section of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. His work will center on protecting and improving the quality of Colorado’s land, air, water, and wildlife.

During his first summer of law school, Evans worked for the Yurok Tribe Office of the Tribal Attorney, which provides support and acts as legal counsel to the Yurok Tribal Council. During his 3L fall, he worked with a municipal government in Michigan through the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic. Evans said he is eager to work on a wide range of issues in Colorado.

“The Fiske Fellowship is a privilege, and I’m immensely grateful for the financial support,” he said. “It puts an onus on me as a recipient to take the things I’ve learned at Michigan Law and be an excellent public servant.”

—————

Gina Gasparotto, ’26, will join the Illinois Attorney General’s Environmental Enforcement Division. She studied environmental science as an undergraduate, which provided her with a strong foundation for understanding how communities interact with their environment and ultimately led her to pursue law school.

“My interest in environmental issues includes how legal systems respond to them,” said Gasparotto. “That’s what drew me to government work: being in a position where I can take advantage of legal tools to address environmental issues directly.”

At Michigan Law, she worked in the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic, which afforded her a closer look at local and state-level enforcement of environmental law. Gasparotto also spent her law school summers interning in the nonprofit sector—first at the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center in Detroit, working on environmental justice and air quality issues; then at the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program in Washington, DC, focusing on flooding issues in Florida, enforcement of the Clean Air Act, and state energy policy.

“This fellowship is essential to my ability to accept a government position immediately after graduation, launching me into the career I’ve always dreamed of,” she said.

—————

Graham Hardig, ’26, joined the Horizon Institute for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization in Washington, DC. Horizon supports emerging talent at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), national security, and technology policy by placing fellows with host organizations, including executive branch and congressional offices and think tanks. Hardig is an AI fellow on the executive branch track. 

Having grown up in a military family just outside DC, Hardig was introduced to national security and international geopolitics from an early age. He then focused his law school education on national security, foreign affairs, and emerging technology law and policy. He launched Michigan Law’s Artificial Intelligence Law and Policy Society during his first year of law school. Hardig has also worked on AI and national security issues in the US Senate and the US Department of State. Most recently, he served as a fellow in the University of Oxford’s Programme for Cyber and Technology Policy.

“I’m extremely grateful to Mr. Fiske for establishing this fellowship,” he said. “With the support I’m receiving, it makes it all the more feasible to answer the call that I feel to public service. I’m incredibly honored.”

—————

Taylor Hopkins, ’24, has been working as an assistant attorney general with the New York State Office of the Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau since last October. She will continue her work through support from the Fiske Fellowship Program.

As a student, Hopkins was co-chair of Michigan Law’s Environmental Law Society. She then served as a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Shirley M. Kawamura on Hawai?i’s First Circuit Environmental Court for one year following her graduation.

Hopkins said she is looking forward to continuing her work with the Environmental Protection Bureau. “It is an honor to be chosen for this fellowship. I am a first-generation lawyer, and the financial support I’m receiving gives me a sense of security so I can continue pursuing my dream. I went to law school so I could embark on a career advocating for the environment. In this job, I get to do exactly that.”

","author_id":0,"date":"2026-06-11T00:00:00","type":"Featured","uri":null,"category":"feature","homepage_order":0,"subdomain":null,"LocalHeadLines":null,"LocationName":null},{"Photos":[{"Id":120041,"Name":"1607537Gongwer-LillyGuiney-web.jpg","ArticleId":1607537,"Description":"","IsMainPhoto":false,"Ordering":0}],"id":1607537,"location_id":1,"title":"Court throws out conviction of man accused of secondary role in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot","summary":"
The conviction of Joseph Morrison in connection with the 2020 plot to \r\nkidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was vacated Tuesday afternoon by a \r\nthree-judge panel in the Court of Appeals, which ruled that under the \r\nletter of the law, kidnapping is not considered a violent felony that \r\nmay be used to establish a terrorism charge.
","text":"

Nessel gears up to appeal


By Lily Guiney
Gongwer News Service


The conviction of Joseph Morrison in connection with the 2020 plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was vacated Tuesday afternoon by a three-judge panel in the Court of Appeals, which ruled that under the letter of the law, kidnapping is not considered a violent felony that may be used to establish a terrorism charge.

Morrison, of Jackson County, was one of three members of the “Wolverine Watchmen” militia group who were convicted in state courts in 2022 of gang membership felonies, felony firearm and providing material support for terrorist acts. Charges against them were brought by Attorney General Dana Nessel in conjunction with federal charges brought against other members of the group more directly involved with the plot, two of whom were convicted in 2022 of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer from her Elk Rapids vacation home and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction, which they’d planned to detonate on the nearby Elk River bridge to deter police response.

Morrison’s involvement in the plot began in 2019 when he created the Facebook group that would become the more formal Wolverine Watchmen militia. Following his trial he sought postconviction relief, arguing that since the trial court directed jurors to consider the kidnapping plot the underlying justification for the charges of terrorism, the court had misinterpreted the law, and prosecutors had failed to prove the requirements of the charges against him.

It was that argument which saw Morrison’s convictions vacated on Tuesday, nearly four years after they were reached. In late 2022, the defendant had argued that “to the extent that at least some of the jurors may have agreed with the prosecution that the purported plot to kidnap the governor was the underlying terrorist act, this was contrary to the statutory language and this court’s interpretation of it.”

Morrison also argued that his conviction of felony firearm should be dismissed because it could not stand without an attached underlying felony. Court of Appeals Judges Thomas Cameron, Mark Boonstra and Brock Swartzle agreed with all of his arguments in People v. Morrison (COA Docket No. 364651).

“Given that the trial court specifically instructed the jury to consider kidnapping as a violent felony and that the jury heard considerable testimony about the plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer, the likelihood that defendant was actually convicted, at least in part, on an invalid basis tainted the jury’s verdict,” Boonstra wrote in the opinion. “Accordingly, we vacate defendant’s conviction of providing material support for an act of terrorism. And because that offense was the underlying felony for the gang-membership felonies and felony-firearm convictions, we vacate those convictions as well.”

Cameron, Boonstra and Swartzle, all appointees of former Gov. Rick Snyder, remanded the case to Jackson County Circuit Court for retrial. The Court of Appeals ruling comes just over a year after a Jackson County judge rejected motions in early 2025 for Morrison and Paul Bellar, another of the three militia members tried there, to have their cases retried or resentenced.

The vacation of conviction came with a remand to trial court, the judges said, due to the likelihood that although there were permissible options of a violent felony underlying the terrorism charge presented to jurors during the trial, the jury simply did not select one of those options to cite. It is feasible that violent felonies could be cited during a potential retrial and thus the judges did not evaluate Morrison’s convictions from other angles.

“We note that the trial court presented the impermissible theory of kidnapping as the violent felony along with other, permissible theories, such as the theories that murder or assault to commit great bodily harm were the violent felony,” the opinion said. “Because the reasonable probability that the jury chose, at least in part, the impermissible theory requires reversal regardless of defendant’s guilt or innocence in relation to the other theories. We remand for a new trial without addressing the sufficiency of the evidence for defendant’s convictions under any other theory.”

Nessel said in a Tuesday statement that she intends to appeal the ruling, which she called “completely and irredeemably nonsensical, outrageous and irresponsible.”

“For the panel to declare that kidnapping is not a violent felony strains all legal credibility and insults the intelligence of every person in this state. The court twists itself into a knot using legal and linguistic gymnastics in order to liberate dangerous criminals using convoluted definitions of the crimes upon which they were convicted,” Nessel said. “The fact that the ruling comes a mere two days following the argument belies the eagerness to which the court sought a means to justify this end.”

The case revolving around the plot to kidnap Whitmer was not “abstract or peaceful,” Nessel said, and jurors in Morrison’s trial observed as prosecutors “explicitly proved a considered and coordinated plan among these men to kidnap and brutally murder the governor, killing as many members of law enforcement and residents of the community as necessary along the way.”

“Kidnapping is violent and it is a felony. A unanimous Jackson County jury found Joseph Morrison guilty of every count against him after less than two days of deliberations,” she said. “That this panel of judges found a way to excuse from these crimes their foundation in violence irresponsibly and unfathomably diminishes and whitewashes the crimes of Joseph Morrison and his many codefendants. It sends a deeply dangerous message, in a fraught and perilous time.”

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, also issued a statement responding to the ruling, saying it recklessly presents an opportunity for extremists of all political stripes to pursue violence knowing they can face minimal legal repercussions.

“I am extremely worried that today’s decision overturning the conviction of one of the men who plotted to kidnap and kill the governor will send a disturbing and dangerous signal to others who may seek to threaten or attack public officials,” Brinks said. 
“The rise in extremism and political violence has already had deadly consequences. There must be accountability when people use or threaten violence against anyone, regardless of party or public status, and it is on all of us as leaders to demand it.”

In a post to X, Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Bloomfield Township, expressed frustration with courts whose decision-making he said is “soft on this type of crime” undermining efforts to stop the proliferation of extremist groups and prevent political violence from impeding elections or making it more difficult for public servants to do their jobs.

“The political extremism in this country has gone way too far and we all must work toward a healthier democracy. But it becomes more difficult to achieve when the courts rule that the plot to kidnap the governor, draw and quarter her, and hang her from a tree doesn’t meet the definition of violence,” Moss said in the post. “I was in the Senate Chamber when these men tried to intimidate us with firearms. And last year the bomb squad had to clear my residence after a detailed threat. We cannot normalize these incidents. But this court decision, Trump’s pardon of January 6 rioters, and even a Republican gubernatorial candidate posting a video of him running over the governor with his tractor just yesterday, all take us down a dangerous path.”

Moss was referring to fellow senator and Republican gubernatorial candidate Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, whose campaign released a video advertisement generated by artificial intelligence on Monday which depicted California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Whitmer fleeing as Nesbitt chases them in a tractor, before Newsom pushes Whitmer to the ground so he can run away. The video ends with Nesbitt in the tractor, presumably about to hit the governor with the vehicle.

Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, also a candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat, released a statement on the Court of Appeals ruling which also referenced Nesbitt’s ad. She said the judge’s logic and decision is “outrageous” and condemned the senate minority leader’s actions.

“Despite helping to set up the cell that tried to kidnap Gov. Whitmer, which would have involved hurting or killing law enforcement and civilians in addition to Gov. Whitmer, they’ve decided that kidnapping isn’t a ‘violent felony’. Political violence is on the rise,” McMorrow said. “And on the same day as this dangerous ruling, the Republican Senate Minority Leader, who’s asking Michiganders to trust him as their next governor, put out an AI-generated video that implies he would drive over Gov. Whitmer with his tractor. This ruling and his actions set a dangerous precedent. The sick violent fantasies must stop, and people who attempt domestic terrorism must be held accountable. It’s appalling.”

Some social media observers noted the ad’s themes of political violence in light of both Morrison’s conviction being vacated and charges being brought last week against a Hawaii man who was arrested in Texas after making threats to kill Whitmer and carry out a mass shooting at the Capitol in Lansing.

The arrest and transfer of Ronald Saville, of Honolulu, came after emails he sent to the Department of State Police in May saying he planned to enter the Capitol with an AR-15 and \"open fire and kill as many people as possible” and to Whitmer saying the same, but adding “then I'm coming for you.”

Nessel said the current climate of intensified political rhetoric, which has given way to violence resulting in murder on more than one occasion, is all the more reason for her office to appeal the panel’s decision in Morrison’s case.

“My office will not allow this to stand. We will not downplay violent terrorism, we will not accept violent threats against our elected leaders, and we will not abide the arbitrary defanging of the criminal statutes that preserve public safety and order in the State of Michigan,” she said. “To restore sanity, protect our public servants, and uphold the rule of law, we are appealing this preposterous decision.”

","author_id":0,"date":"2026-06-11T00:00:00","type":"Featured","uri":null,"category":"feature","homepage_order":0,"subdomain":null,"LocalHeadLines":null,"LocationName":null},{"Photos":[],"id":1607538,"location_id":1,"title":"New guidance helps court leaders address recruitment and retention challenges","summary":"
What began around 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic and the “great \r\nresignation” has become a lasting shift in the workforce, driven by \r\ngenerational change, rising employee expectations, and increasing \r\ncompetition for talent.
","text":"
What began around 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic and the “great resignation” has become a lasting shift in the workforce, driven by generational change, rising employee expectations, and increasing competition for talent.

The Nation Center for State Court’s new “Recruitment and Retention Guide for Court Leaders at All Levels” offers practical strategies to help courts attract, develop, and retain qualified staff. Developed with input from court leaders nationwide, the guide addresses current workforce challenges and identifies concrete steps leaders at every level can take to build a skilled workforce with modern recruitment and retention strategies.

“Our courts are only as strong as the people who serve in them. As the landscape evolves, attracting and retaining dedicated professionals is vital to delivering equal justice,” said John Bello, NCSC director of court operations and governance. “This guide provides state courts with actionable, innovative strategies to build resilient workforces and support the dedicated staff who keep our justice system moving.”

National workforce trends show that up to 50% of U.S. employees are open to leaving their current employer, according to research cited in the guide. To help courts respond, the guide outlines more than two dozen recruitment and retention strategies, 
including these top examples:

Recruitment strategies

1. Streamline the application process

2. Update and clarify job titles and descriptions

3. Allow workplace schedule flexibility

4. Use more creative recruiting strategies

• Retention strategies

1. Focus on workplace culture and employee wellbeing

2. Effectively onboard new employees

3. Provide opportunities for professional development and career advancement

4. Solicit and act on employee feedback

Bello noted that underlying all strategies is a more fundamental question court leaders must answer: Why do employees choose to join, stay, and leave their court?

Among the retention strategies highlighted is the focus on wellness programs and their impact on employees’ physical, emotional, financial, and social wellbeing. The guide offers examples of activities and programming related to stress management, time management, access to mental health services, fitness benefits, clubs, and social activities.

“Workplace Wellbeing: A State Court Guide” delves deeper into workplace wellness and employee wellbeing, identifying eight key areas of focus with evidence-informed strategies, resources, and tools.

The “Recruitment and Retention Guide for Court Leaders at All Levels” was developed in collaboration with the CCJ-COSCA Pandemic Rapid Response Team (RRT), which is funded by the State Justice Institute.  The guide is available online at www.ncsc.org/resources-courts/building-skilled-workforce-modern-recruitment-retention-strategies.

For information about fostering a stronger, healthier, and safer workplace, access the RRT’s “Workplace Wellbeing: A State Court Guide” at www.ncsc.org/resources-courts/workplace-well-being-state-court-guide or contact NCSC at www.ncsc.org/contact-us#no-back to discuss how it can support a court. 

","author_id":0,"date":"2026-06-11T00:00:00","type":"Featured","uri":null,"category":"feature","homepage_order":0,"subdomain":null,"LocalHeadLines":null,"LocationName":null},{"Photos":[],"id":1607539,"location_id":1,"title":"DOJ encourages communities to apply for nearly $700 million in grants to support law enforcement","summary":"
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the Office of Community \r\nOriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has released nearly $700 \r\nmillion in grant Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) to support law\r\n enforcement.
","text":"
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has released nearly $700 million in grant Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) to support law enforcement.

The released NOFOs include the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) and several other grant programs that:

• Support the hiring and retention of sworn law enforcement officers,

• Keep school students safe,

• Promote the health and safety of our nation’s law enforcement personnel,

• Keep communities safe by providing active shooter training, and

• Provide critical technology resources through congressionally designated projects. 

“The funding announced today reflects our unwavering commitment to supporting the men and women of law enforcement who keep our communities safe,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “By investing directly in law enforcement, we are empowering agencies across the country to respond more effectively to evolving threats. This is another key step in the Trump Administration’s mission to make America Safe Again — and one that will support our nationwide effort to reduce crime in every zip code.”

“These grants will deliver real, measurable impact in communities across the country,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. “This Administration is committed to strengthening public safety and ensuring accountability to the taxpayer. 
The Department will make certain that every dollar invested goes directly toward reducing crime and upholding the rule of law. Supporting the heroic work of state, local, and tribal law enforcement is not only an honor, but an essential step forward in our shared mission to keep the American people safe.”

The COPS Hiring Program is intended to reduce crime and advance public safety by providing direct funding to state, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies for the hiring of career law enforcement personnel in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Up to $158 million will be available. 

The STOP School Violence Prevention Program provides funding to improve security at schools and on school grounds in the grantees’ jurisdictions through evidence-based school safety programs. Up to $73 million will be available. 

The Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program provides funding to improve the delivery of and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement and their families through training and technical assistance, demonstration projects, and implementation of promising practices related to peer mentoring, access to mental health services and wellness programs. Up to $9 million will be available. 

The Preparing for Active Shooter Situations Program provides funding for scenario-based training that prepares officers, deputies, and other first responders to safely and effectively handle active-shooter and other violent threats. This year’s program will train at least 20,000 first responders through scenario-based, multi-disciplinary training classes. Up to $10 million will be available. 

The COPS Office Anti-Heroin Task Force Program advances public safety by providing funds directly to state law enforcement to locate and investigate illicit activities through statewide collaboration related to the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, or carfentanil or the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids. Up to $34 million will be available. 

The COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program is designed to investigate illicit activities related to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine. Funding must be used to locate or investigate illicit activities such as precursor diversion, laboratories, or methamphetamine traffickers. Up to $13 million will be available. 

The COPS Technology and Equipment Program provides congressionally designated and directed spending to develop and acquire effective law enforcement equipment, technologies and interoperable communications that assist in responding to and preventing crime.  This is not a competitive NOFO and Congress has allocated $400 million for the COPS Technology and Equipment Program. 

State and local governmental entities must comply with 8 U.S.C. § 1373, which provides that state and local government entities may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, receiving from, maintaining, or exchanging information regarding citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual with components of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or any other federal, state or local government entity. Priority consideration will be given to jurisdictions that cooperate with federal law enforcement to address illegal immigration and coordinate and participate with the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF).

The COPS Office is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing and the Administration’s priority of Making America Safe Again by supporting the nation’s state, local, territorial and Tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources.

For additional information on COPS Office NOFOs, visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/grants.

","author_id":0,"date":"2026-06-11T00:00:00","type":"Featured","uri":null,"category":"feature","homepage_order":0,"subdomain":null,"LocalHeadLines":null,"LocationName":null},{"Photos":[],"id":1607540,"location_id":1,"title":"Daily Briefs","summary":"
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law awarded Voice for Justice \r\nFellowships to Tijani Mohamed, a rising third-year student in the JD \r\nprogram, and Gabriela Gardner, a rising second-year student in the \r\nCanadian and American Dual JD program. The fellowships support their \r\nservice as legal interns this summer at nonprofit organizations \r\ndedicated to advancing access to justice.? 
","text":"

Law school awards Voice for Justice Fellowships


University of Detroit Mercy School of Law awarded Voice for Justice Fellowships to Tijani Mohamed, a rising third-year student in the JD program, and Gabriela Gardner, a rising second-year student in the Canadian and American Dual JD program. The fellowships support their service as legal interns this summer at nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing access to justice.? 

Mohamed is serving at Southeastern Dispute Resolution Services. He contributes to the Peace Pod initiative supporting a multi-tiered community dispute resolution educational system in both traditional and community-centered spaces, helping to reestablish accessible, grassroots mediation and problem-solving resources for all. 

“The legal system, while necessary in many cases, does not always provide closure or healing,” commented Mohamed. “The gap between doing nothing and going to court is exactly where the Peace Pod lives.” 

Gardner is serving at Freedom House Detroit. As a legal intern, she supports immigration services. 

“My interest in public service developed as I volunteered in my church and local community,” explained Gardner. “Immigration work has been my passion. I believe everyone should be valued as the person that they are and receive the support they need to live the life they want.” 

The Voice for Justice Fellowship has supported more than 100 fellows locally and around the world since launching in 2003. 

Author to join book club hosted by WBA, BWLAM June 17


The Women’s Bar Association (WBA), Oakland County region of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, along with the Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan will present a Summer Book Club event on Wednesday, June 17, beginning at 6 p.m. at  Mother Handsome, 14661 W. Eleven Mile Rd., Ste. 500 in Oak Park.

The book for this month will be “The Tiny Things Are Heavier” by Esther Okonkwo, assistant professor of English; African and African American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.  This debut novel follows a Nigerian immigrant as she tries to find her place at home and in America—an epic about love, grief, family, and belonging.  Okonkwo will be joining the group for this discussion providing a unique opportunity to really dive into the material and discuss the struggle everyone faces in truly finding and making a home. 

Participants are asked to bring $10 to the event, or ask for WBA’s Zelle QR Code, to assist with the ordering of drinks and food.  Mother Handsome has a variety of pizza, snacks, coffee, and other beverages. To register or for any questions, email Natasha Rao at natasha-rao@hot mail.com.

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