“It is essential that all people have the opportunity to see themselves represented with dignity and humanity in the books that we share. This promotes the growth of wellbeing, understanding, and acceptance in our world.”
LITTLE FREE LIBRARY AT HASTINGS HOUSE COOP
HASTINGS ON HUDSON, NEW YORK
“Everyone deserves to see themselves in the books they read and the stories they love.”
MR. PEBBLE’S MEMORIAL LIBRARY
OLD BRIDGE, NEW JERSEY
8332 pledges
and counting...
Reading is for everyone and everyone should be represented in stories and books.
Our family is culturally and racially diverse, and our reading should be as well.
I am taking the Read in Color pledge because everyone should see themselves in the pages of a book, but also, because everyone should see through the eyes of others, as well. Art (literature) is an imitation of life. Beauty is diverse. Libraries should be, too.
Love to read about other cultures.
Compassion and empathy expand when we learn about people and worlds that, at first glance, seem foreign to us; if we’re enough enlightened, we can soon understand that “they and them” are a part of “us.”
Representation in literature matters- it affirms, shares, and humanizes ourselves for others and others for ourselves. Books provide an opportunity for expansion of understanding and diverse books by and about people of color helps bring the full spectrum of human experience into view of readers.
Reading creates more empathy for yourself, and others that you may not yet know.