As an African American educator and children’s author,  in prior years I’ve noticed the lack of literature that our children have access to.  Literature that’s easy to read, understand and serves as a representation of themselves. However, current data includes some things to celebrate, and we are celebrating them! The number of diverse books published has increased substantially.

African American authors are misunderstood, misrepresented and fighting hard, frequently thankless, and it’s easy to become burnt out to get a spot on the shelf with African American representation in literature.  

Join us on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the Library hosts its second annual celebration of the National African American Read-In, an event for the entire family. This event will be live-streamed on the Library’s YouTube & Facebook Pages, and there, myself and a few other panelists will be expounding on this topic.

To see more information on the 2nd Annual National African American Read-In, click here.

--

This blog was written by author Shaketa Richardson 

When my son arrived, I established a goal to read two books a day with him. Together, we read a variety of books featuring animals, shapes, children and letters. I enjoyed picture books where I was able to make up my own bedtime story for him. During those moments, I would usually make him the leading character and use his favorite toys or foods all throughout the story. A few months into our reading time, I began to take inventory of the children’s books within our home library. I became intrigued by the lack of diversity within the children’s books within our home and specifically the lack of everyday stories featuring young Black boys as the protagonist.

I started to get more specific on the type of book that I was looking for featuring a young Black boy. Many people love the children’s book I Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. It is a story of a mother who loves her son and follows their journey from the son being raised by his mother until the son ends up being the caregiver for his mother until she dies. I loved this story and the bond that it represents between a mother and her son. I felt confident that I would be able to find this everyday story told with mothers and sons from different cultural backgrounds. I decided to look online to see if I could find a few versions of this book and surprisingly, I could not find it. Instead, I found that there were more books with animals and trucks as the protagonist than there were about people of Color.

My entire life I have been exposed to the positive images of Black boys through my own personal encounters. Alternatively, I have watched the media publish demonizing images and stereotypes of Black boys that did not match my everyday experience.

As a parent, I am passionate about marrying the media images of Black boys with the actual joy and experience that exists within my everyday life. I believe that once the two images match that society will begin to see Black boys as humans and not “things” such as a thug or athletes. The labels that are put on Black boys allow society to detach itself from the idea that Black boys are indeed humans that are loved by their mothers and bring joy to those around them.

Join us on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the library hosts its second annual celebration of the National African American Read-In, an event for the entire family. This event will be live-streamed on the library’s YouTube & Facebook Pages, and there, myself and a few other panelists will be expounding on this topic.

To see more information on the 2nd Annual National African American Read-In, click here.

--

This blog was written by author and National African American Read-In panelist Charlitta Hatch

Did you recently start a business and need to brush up on Excel to track your budget and other spreadsheets? Have you just started using a computer or smartphone? Do you need to expand your knowledge of Microsoft Office and Google Workspace Apps for your job?  

No matter where you are on your journey learning about technology and software, our DigiLit classes are a wonderful place to start! DigiLit is the brand for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s suite of Digital Literacy classes. We offer classes that will get you started with the basics, and then connect you with the best resources to continue your learning! 

We are currently offering our DigiLit classes online using Zoom. To view our full schedule visit: cmlibrary.org/calendar.  

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has been hosting reading and literacy programs for many years and our annual Community Read program is part of that history. My time with Community Read goes back to its beginnings in 2014, where at the time, the Library selected and offered only one book for the community to read. The initiative lasted one week and included planned programming that support the themes of the book. Over time, the program has changed, grown, and evolved from a library-led program to being more community centered featuring support through Library staff and resources. One thing however has remained the same — Community Read invites everyone to read or listen to books of current and relevant topics and participate in discussions, book clubs and events hosted by community partners and the Library.

Everyone can participate in Community Read as the program features books and events for all ages and reading levels. This year, our signature title is Tomorrow’s Bread by Anna Jean Mayhew. We also have two companion titles for children Windows by Julia Denos and The Blue House by Phoebe Wahl as well as two middle grade books, Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles and  The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya. For teens and those who enjoy the young adult genre, we have also included the book Pride by Ibi Aanu Zoboi. Our theme for this year’s program is “finding common ground” and all the selected titles share the common themes of gentrification and urban renewal. We encourage readers and book clubs to get together virtually, or safely in person, to discuss the common themes found in all the books. Speaking of finding the books, all the titles are available for checkout in several formats, but also available for free at all branch locations while supplies last — a far cry from our original one book program.

Over the last 8 years, Community Read has grown to offer programming and events for an entire month during March and a complete list of programs and events offered by our partners and staff can be found on our website. Community Read is designed to get everyone involved and our goal is to engage 10,000 people, or 10% of Mecklenburg County in the program. We invite you to do this by taking the Beanstack Reading Challenge to log reading and activity time and by joining us for our signature author events throughout the month.

What does it take for us to find common ground when discussing these important topics? We invite you to Read the books and join the discussion as we find the answers together.

--

This blog was written by Meryle Leonard, assistant director of outreach at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.