!["Returning the River" by Molly Van Avery, Dameun Strange, and Michael Hoyt. Image courtesy of Michael Hoyt.](https://i0.wp.com/openrivers.lib.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ReturningTheRiver-IlluminateTheLock.jpg?fit=330%2C255&ssl=1)
Review of Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
As the water quality coordinator for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) for nine years, I organized and hosted the Mississippi River Forum. A monthly informational and networking series, the River Forum was one of my more visible tasks. A fundamental organizing principle of this ongoing series was to bring together a disciplinarily diverse group of water resource practitioners and decision-makers for conversations with people beyond their typical working relationships…