What an honor to sit down with Kwabi Amoah-Forson of The Peace Bus, and my dear friend Jamie Kinoshita Brooks on Saturday afternoon in the sunny sitting area of Brooks Dental on Broadway. They’re each people of purpose, vision, intention, and enthusiasm for humanity—people with big hearts for deepening and strengthening community.
Dr. Jamie and Gretchen getting organized way back at the beginning of our book drive for Little Free Libraries. Now we’re here to encourage you to get involved in giving books to The Peace Bus!
The Duggan, Brooks & Books project lives on and this time we’re energized by the vision of Kwabi and The Peace Bus! If you haven’t heard about it, our partnership with Dr. Jamie and Brooks Dental Studio started in early 2019. We decided to share our love of books, our love of Tacoma, and our support for literacy and access to reading by lifting up some of Tacoma’s Little Free Libraries, especially on blocks or in neighborhoods where the nearest public library just isn't that near. We head out regularly with the books you donate to keep little libraries stocked. We also commissioned and installed a Little Free Library in Hilltop. But we’re not done yet!
Before I arrived at our meeting, Kwabi had a chance to ask Dr. Jamie’s daughters what peace means to them. I really wish I’d been there to hear their answers!
When Dr. Jamie learned about The Peace Bus, and founder Kwabi’s new Manifest Humanity campaign, she recognized this as an opportunity to support literacy. It’s right in line with the part of our Duggan, Brooks & Books mission in which we seek to “Share - our love of books, of reading, and our love of Tacoma.”
Kwabi, The Peace Bus & Manifest Humanity
Raised in University Place, Kwabi is a local through-and-through and he’s been showing Tacoma a lot of love including reading to kids, and making letters to Santa come true (he even mentioned Santa delivering a Christmas hamster—for real!), but next he embarks on a journey across the USA where he will plant seeds of peace on his way.
“This summer 2021 The Peace Bus and I will be heading out on a journey of a lifetime, driving from Washington State to Washington DC in an effort to meet with President Joe Biden to have a discussion about what we can do to bring the nation together in peace. Along the way, I will be stopping in major cities, giving out books on peace, love, and understanding to kids across America.
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This is where we all come in. Kwabi and his team will be giving books on their Manifest Humanity reading list to children and youth across America, and those books have to come from somewhere. All of us are that somewhere!
Visit the Brooks Dental Blog!
I hope you’ll move from this introduction to the Brooks Dental Studio blog to learn more about Kwabi’s Manifest Humanity campaign, his inspiration for The Peace Bus, and how you can help. And stay tuned by following The Peace Bus on Facebook and Instagram!
Dr. Jamie captured me taking notes as Kwabi shared a few favorites from his Manifest Humanity reading list. He is truly passionate about these books and their power.
Kwabi’s Peace Reading List Book Donations
Order books to donate as soon as you can, and we encourage you to shop through our local King’s Books! All branches of our fantastic Tacoma Public Library are donation sites through August 14th (extended from the original July 30th deadline), so make sure to get them there in time. Alternatively, direct books to:
THE PEACE BUS
PO Box 862
TACOMA, WA 98401
From his full list of 40 books on peace, love, justice, influential leaders, racism, poverty, and justice, I asked Kwabi if he could share some favorites he’d especially like to come through in book donations. He named the following titles:
Children’s Selection - Peace is an Offering, by Annette Lebox
Pre-teen Selection - People of Peace: 40 inspiring icons, by Sandrine Mirza
Teen Selection - Making it Right: Building Peace, Settling Conflict, by Marilee Peters
Adult Selections - The Art of Waging Peace: A Strategic Approach to Improving Our Lives and the World, by Paul K. Chappell
Why Nations Fail, by Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson
We hope you’ll have a chance to give a book to The Peace Bus and don’t forget to learn more on the Brooks Dental blog!
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