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On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.

 in St. Paul recommends the nonfiction book 

“A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics”

 by Juanita Tolliver. Abdur Salaam describes it as a “roadmap” for cultivating community. 

Chisholm and Carroll both claimed important firsts for Black women. In 1972, Chisholm was the first Black woman to run for president. Carroll was the first Black woman to win a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical (for Richard Rodgers’ “No Strings”) in 1962.  

Tolliver zeroes her focus on one event: a party hosted by Carroll in Hollywood to introduce Chisholm to a community of influencers to support her presidential run. Among the big names in attendance were Huey P. Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party; Berry Gordy, founder of the Motown Record label; and actors Goldie Hawn and Flip Wilson. Each chapter of the book focuses on a different guest in attendance. 

Makkah Abdur Salaam recommends reading this book as a great way to start Black History Month. “[Tolliver] lays out how Shirley Chisholm basically lays the foundation for the women to come after her, like Stacey Abrams, AOC, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Maxine Waters.” 

It was the coalition-building focus of the book that Abdur Salaam, age 26, found most hopeful. 

“I know that there’s a heightened — especially younger people — feeling of [being] isolated and lonely, not really knowing what to do in this kind of political sphere. So I think this book is a great road map on how to really stay grounded and how to just engage with the people who are around you. 

“It’s a really great book to learn how to cultivate community and learn how to engage in sisterhood and brotherhood with each other in a way that is based in empathy and compassion for each other, as well as the spirit of reciprocity. I have to emphasize that [Chisholm] gave and gave to her community, and when she asked for them to show up for her, they did.” 

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Makkah Abdur Salaam of Black Garnet Books in St. Paul recommends “A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics” by Juanita Tolliver.

Ask a Bookseller: ‘A More Perfect Party‘ by Juanita Tolliver

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