Coquitlam library speaker series amplifies diverse voices

The Coquitlam Public Library is hosting the first of two public speaking events focused on diversity this evening. 

Last week, the library announced on social media they were bringing back the Brave Spaces Speaker Series. The first Brave Spaces session of the year is scheduled for tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the City Centre branch and will focus on the Pride community. 

There will be five speakers at the event, including someone who is transgender and their parents. 

“We thought it would be nice for people to hear what it’s like to grow up with allies,” said Ann Johannes, community development liason at the CPL.

There will be light refreshments and time for people to ask questions following the speeches.

The CPL first hosted the speaker series in fall 2021 as a way to combat and address hate that originated in the wider community during the COVID-19 pandemic, Johannes said. 

“Our thought is when people hear others, they will understand better and, hopefully, have less hatred,” Johannes said. 

The first session focused on having conversations about race, and over the ensuing three years, the library used the space to spotlight immigrant stories, Black history in B.C. and Indigenous perspectives among many other topics.

“People hate what they don’t know, and they’re overwhelmed by what they don’t know. So we’re trying to get you to know them,” Johannes said.

The second session of 2024 is slated for May 15 and will focus on “an interfaith exchange” between a Christian reverend, rabbi and a speaker on Muslim faith. 

“We want to have those conversations,” Johannes said. “To us, that is what the purpose of a library is, to have difficult conversations.”  

For more information about the upcoming speaker series, click here.