Grasp Knowledge at the Root
Political and books that are banned throughout the U.S. can be found at the 956 Radical Library located at 1200 W Elizabeth St. Brownsville, TX 78520. Eduardo Rodriguez/Pulse
The 956 Radical Library in Brownsville is a “project” that encourages people to gather together for a few hours to soak in the knowledge of reading banned books and gardening.
Co-founders Nansi Guevara and Xandra Trevino both disagreed on the idea of certain states banning books and censorship.
They reached out to the Texas Book Festival and were able to donate a collection of banned books to them.
Brownsville, TX 78520
Eduardo Rodriguez/Pulse
Trevino said this sparked the idea of creating the 956 Radical Library because they wanted people to have access to a variety of narratives that states are trying to hide.
Trevino said this sparked the idea of creating the 956 Radical Library because they wanted people to have access to a variety of narratives that states are trying to hide.
“The community deserves to know what has happened in the past and have information that helps them survive, while this stuff is currently happening.” Trevino said.
According to her, they added “Radical” to the library because the word means “grasping things at the root.”
They want the public to know the struggles they are facing are things that have been written in books that audiences can relate to.
“Storytelling is very important, it’s how we connect to each other and if we can connect with people who have been through these situations before, then survived them, then we can do the same,” she said.
The awareness they want to bring to the youth through the 956 Radical Library is they can create a community through reading and growing their own food.
The co-founder of the Radical Garden, David Bafquev said the reason why they added the garden is because it was to support the ecosystem by growing native flowers and indigenous plants.
They want to show people the beauty that is the Rio Grande Valley and attract the public to what the library offers.
“We don’t have balance in our lives, that’s what I want to bring to the library, balance and tranquility,” Bafquev said. “We’re trying to create a positive wave of just getting people to understand a different way of life.”
The 956 Radical Library offers book club meetings, where anybody can sign up and read the book they choose for that meeting.
The book club offers a chance for people to get together, have a chat and enjoy connecting with other people.
Bafquev said he will be hosting a workshop for the Radical Garden in February. At the time of publication, the date is still unknown.
The workshop will teach people how to grow their own food and where to start.
According to Trevino,“there’s just so many ways to connect, whether we’re reading or growing something out in the garden, you’re with people and connecting.”
In addition, Bafquev added, “What do people do to have a good time? They break bread together, we eat at the table together, that’s how we create community.”
The 956 Radical Library is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Friday and Saturday and is located at 1200 W Elizabeth St. in Brownsville.
