Deb Gamble will be serving as moderator of the Book Club that starts in March. What better way to get acquainted with a member of our organization than to record her responses to a few interview questions! Deb has always been an avid reader. As a child, she lived a couple on blocks from the library and checked out books nearly every day. Growing up in a small farming community in northeast Ohio, Deb was aware of the migrant workers and their families and the black and white citizens in her community. In high school during the Civil Rights Movement, Deb began to educate herself about social justice issues while reading books about leaders such as Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King, Jr. She feels that people can never learn enough and that we must understand the underlying causes if we want to effectively change policies. That is why her selection of the first book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, is essential in understanding the topic of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

As an adult, Deb’s family moved many times, and one of the first things she would do was join a book club as a great way to meet people and form friendships. The choice of the book, Caste, came from not only Deb, but also from the DEI Committee. Deb was asked to lead the book study because last year, she had read Caste in a local book club as well as several other race-related books. In the League of Women Voters - Whitewater Area, Deb has helped with voter registration and was formerly the Membership Chair.

Submitted by Kathy Brimmer, Membership Chair