Civil Rights Team: Book of the Month
The MCMS Civil Rights Team has a Book of the Month initiative, which began this autumn. Each month, they choose a thought-provoking book matched with a word which relates to one of the six categories on the Civil Rights Wheel.

This month, they selected Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. The main character, Aven Green, was born without arms. When she moves to Arizona and goes to a new school, she finds herself facing the same discrimination from her fellow students as she always has. But she also finds a mystery she hadn’t expected, and new friends, too. They chose this book because while discussing not just Aven’s disability, but those of her friends, Dusti Bowling maintains the impression that despite her differences, Aven is just a normal kid. Because of this, we chose the word ‘disability’ in lieu of a more specific one. After completing this book, they found that they had the deepest understanding of what it simply means to have a disability--that no matter how we look on the outside, we aren’t so different, deep down. 

Please check out Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. They would love for you to read it!