Event box

Representation Matters: The Power of Black Children's Books

Representation Matters: The Power of Black Children's Books

David Miller knows only eighteen percent of African American fourth-graders read proficiently. Likewise, he's aware that it's increasingly difficult to find quality children's books by authors of color. These staggering statistics, Miller says, underscore the need for getting Black students excited about reading early and often. He suggests that "improving the outcomes for children of color can begin with something as simple as finding ways to engage them in the power of reading books that interest them.” In Representation Matters: The Power of Black Children's Books, David Miller will discuss the lack of representation of children of color in books and why that is important.

David Miller has written a number of children's books, including Gabe & His Green Thumb, about a boy who discovers the power of growing food, Chef Toussaint,  Khalil's Way, and Brooklyn's Finest: The Greene Family Farm, which features a family that realizes they live in a food desert and open an organic farm in a vacant lot across the street from their apartment building. A former teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools, Miller is widely known for designing “Dare to Be King: What if the Prince Lives?” a survival workbook for African-American males featuring a 52- week curriculum designed to teach adolescent males how to survive and thrive in toxic environments.

The Get Lit! theme for 2021 is "Black History" and features many of the local authors, such as David Miller, who helped to build the original Black Male Emergent Readers (BMER) Literacy Program. Now featuring Lit Chicks Read authors as well as BMER authors, this event promises to be a highlight of the month's programming which will continue throughout the year!

 

Date:
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Time:
7:30pm - 8:30pm
Categories:
Author Visit   Life & Job Skills   Virtual  
Registration has closed.

Event Organizer

Profile photo of Meldon Jenkins-Jones
Meldon Jenkins-Jones

Meldon Jenkins-Jones is the Richmond Public Library / Community Services Manager at Hull Street Branch Library. 

Meldon also chairs the Get Lit Advisory Committee which supports the Richmond Public Library Get Lit Reading Initiatives including the Black Male Emergent Readers (BMER) program and the Lit Chicks Read book clubs.

Meldon is a graduate of the Leadership Metro Richmond Class of 2022. She was the first recipient of the Virginia Library Association (VLA) Librarians of Color Forum Award in 2021 and is an active member of VLA. She presented “Libraries Bringing Community Together” at the 2023 VLA Annual Conference.

In 2011, Meldon received her Master of Library and Information Studies from Florida State University. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law—Newark and practiced law in New Jersey until her retirement in 2003. Meldon received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she studied African American Studies and Russian Civilization.

A Metro Richmond resident, Meldon is the mother of two adult children and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.

More events like this...