After successful Fall 2024 cohort, the Read in Color program is gearing up for an exciting new wave of activity! We will be kicking off our second cohort cycle this month. Read on to meet the organizations bringing Read in Color to their communities as part of our spring cohort.
“United Way of Greater Niagara (Sanborn, NY) is a nonprofit with the mission to invest in youth programs that positively impact social, emotional and mental development across the Greater Niagara region of Western New York, including Niagara Falls, Lockport, North Tonawanda and the city of Tonawanda, as well as the Tuscarora Nation Reservation. United Way fuels programs that provide books and reading materials, support for parents, year-round enrichment, and other resources to those in need. We work to support our community today and strengthen it for tomorrow by building a region where every child grows up knowing they can succeed, regardless of their background or circumstance. The media we consume shapes us, and through Read in Color, we look forward to helping our diverse community see themselves in the stories they read. United, we are fostering a generation that is driven, compassionate, and equipped to tackle the challenges of tomorrow!”
“Possible Futures (New Haven, CT) is a place where people come together to understand and learn from the past, thrive and grow in the present, and imagine and build a better, more sustainable, and socially just world. Possible Futures is a community bookspace, a cross between a community reading room and an independent bookstore. It welcomes you, whether you’re looking to purchase, peruse, or plan. Possible Futures provides a curated collection of books, artwork, events, and goodies that feed the mind, nourish the body, and sustain the soul. It prioritizes shelf space primarily for authors and topics that have been historically underrepresented in publishing and on public shelves. Possible Futures is a space for all knowledge-seekers and freedom dreamers. That said, it offers special supports, services, and programming for teachers, schools, and public education initiatives.”
“Beyond Adornment Club (B.A.C.) (Los Angeles, CA) passionately drives to eradicate illiteracy among 1 billion Black girls globally by redefining literacy and showcasing Black girlhood as an invaluable asset in equity-based classrooms and homeschooling environments. Our organization is grounded in peer-reviewed research, recognizing mental health, critical media, and financial literacy as pivotal 21st-century skills essential for empowering Black girls in their lived experiences. We also believe that exposure to these books helps to liberate the minds of their peers and educators who may not understand the inherent value of how their cultural assets, like braids, can be an asset in and outside the classroom. As advocates for diverse representation in literature, we believe that Read in Color’s initiative aligns seamlessly with our mission. We echo loudly the words of Nina Simone to reflect the times we are in as an organization led by creative scholars to join this program as it aligns with our goal of amplifying underserved voices, confronting book bans and fostering understanding through diverse narratives in literature and life. Asé.”
Learn more about Read in Color, and see where we’ve placed Little Free Libraries through the program in the past. Donate today! When you donate, you help us provide libraries to communities like these.