Today's readers are tomorrow's leaders!
The Black Book Initiative was founded in 2020 by Evita Hudson. As a mother of 5, Evita knows first hand the value and importance of childhood literacy. Her oldest daughter, Ayana Hudson, serves as co-founder & social media manager of the organization. Ayana brings a youthful perspective and a refreshing point of view, which are both critical to the success of the initiative.
With COVID-19 forcing schools to shift from formal in-person learning to a less involved virtual format, elementary aged children are missing critical in class reading time. In underserved and underrepresented districts, many of the books children have access to lack characters who look like them. And too many times, the access to books ends when the school bell rings.
There is value in ownership, so Evita & Ayana wanted to do their part to make sure that children not only have access to books, but that they have a book to call their own. And since representation also matters, it was extremely important to ensure that books gifted to the children were written and/or illustrated by people of color.
The purpose of the Black Book Initiative is to provide brand new books written and/or illustrated by Black authors to children in grades K thru 3 who attend schools in underserved and underrepresented communities.
Our mission is to encourage children to become avid readers by gifting books with characters who look like them.
The Black Book Initiative relies completely on community support from every day people just like YOU!!! By clicking the link to make a purchase, the book you select will be gifted to a child in grades K-3 in the Columbus, Ohio community.
Our initial goal is small- adopt one classroom and provide a book to every student. With your help by spreading the word and also making a book donation, our hope is to meet and far exceed our goal to hopefully adopt multiple classrooms this school year.
Due to the current COVID-19 environment, donations can only be made by direct purchase via the link. This allows the book to go from the vendor to the Black Book Initiative to a child's hands, and limit exposure on all ends.
1. Click on the link to be directed to the Black Book Initiative wish list on Amazon.
2. Browse through the selection of amazing books and click "add to cart".
3. When checking out, please make sure that the shipping address selected is "Evita @ Black Book Initiative". This will ensure that the book(s) get delivered directly to Black Book Initiative
Note: We are not receiving any kick-backs or monetary incentives from the authors, illustrators, publishers, vendors, or Amazon for your purchase. We are not currently a 501c3 organization so your purchase isn't tax deductible, though our longterm goal is to be certified and recognized as a non-profit organization. If you would like to make a monetary donation or a donation of an Amazon gift card to be used towards the purchase of books, please contact us at blackbookinitiative@gmail.com
"Early literacy is one area where lack of progress is particularly alarming. A student's ability to read on grade level by the end of 4th grade is a key indicator of future success in school and in life.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that 74 percent of students who tested below the 25th percentile in reading were from low-income families. Scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), are considered "catastrophically low" for children of color. Nationally, only 18 percent of black students and 21 percent of Hispanic students tested "above proficient" in reading by the end of 4th grade.
Investment in early literacy is critical. Students who do not read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school, and low literacy in pre-teen girls is a strong predictor of teenage pregnancy."
(source: https://thehill.com/opinion/education/381399-read-this-us-literacy-gap-needs-closing?amp )