About 25 people celebrated the words of Tupac Shakur, Langston Hughes and Malcolm X Tuesday night at the 20th National African-American Read-In.
The event was part of a nationwide effort to celebrate black literacy during Black History Month.
Over half the attendees chose to read, selecting both famous and lesser-known works from black writers.
David Green, who organized the event, said the event's diversity -- attendees represented various ethnicities -- showed that people are placing more importance on literature originating from other cultures than their own.
"It sends the message that African-American literature is a part of American literature, and that it's central to the construction of our democracy," he said.
Brandy Scalise helped publicize the event. She said the Read-In allowed for people to hear writers that "aren't heard often enough."
"It's an opportunity to show the complexity of the voices that produced the current public discourse in literature," Scalise (graduate-English) said.
The event was sponsored by the Center for Democratic Deliberation and the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Over a million people in 49 states, the West Indies and Africa have participated in similar Read-Ins, according to NCTE's Web site.
Green said in the past, Penn State's Read-In was a two-day event that included guest speakers and high school students. However, the event took a one-year hiatus after its original organizer left the university and is rebuilding this year, he said.
"This is grassroots," Green said.
Next year, Green hopes the Read-In will include guest speakers and more undergraduates, he added.
Bill Schraufnagel (graduate-rhetoric and composition) read excerpts from Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" at the event, and said he enjoyed the readers' selections.
"You get to know your peers better," Schraufnagel said. "We interact socially, but we often don't engage in why we're actually here. These texts mean a lot to us."
Kevin Browne (graduate-English) also attended the event, and said it helped emphasize the complexity of American culture.
"My fundamental reason for attending is to support programs that encourage literacy and exposure to literature produced by African Americans," Browne said.
