In partnership with Community Remembrance Coalition Chatham (CRC-C), Chatham Community Library will host "Say His Name: Jim Becomes James", a discussion on Percival Everett's novel James (2024) on Saturday, March 30, from 11:00 am - noon in the Holmes Family Meeting Room. This program is free and open to the public.

James  is a retelling of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of the enslaved man, Jim, giving him agency, intelligence, and a central role in the narrative. The book follows Jim as he escapes to avoid being sold, joins forces with Huck Finn on the Mississippi River, and navigates the realities of slavery and the impending Civil War, offering a powerful and often humorous corrective to the original text.  James won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction. 

CRC-C members Jo Corro and Shirley Edwards will lead the discussion.

Residents may visit the libraries’ website www.chathamlibraries.org, or contact the Library at (919) 545-8084 for information on this and other events and programs.

Members of the media interested in attending/covering this event are asked to please notify Public Information Officer Kara Lusk in advance at 919-542-8258 or kara.lusk@chathamcountync.gov.