Social Justice Books Team Attends Inaugural #ReadBlackBooks Conference

Keesha Ceran, Lucy Sieczka, Becca Townley

Teaching for Change associate director, Keesha Ceran, and Social Justice Books interns, Becca Townley and Lucy Sieczka, participated in the Hurston/Wright Foundation’s Inaugural #ReadBlackBooks Conference from June 26 – June 30.

The #ReadBlackBooks initiative is an effort to push back against the national rise in the banning of books by Black authors in pre-K-12 schools and libraries and the dismantling of diverse cultural programs.

Hurston/Wright Foundation’s Writer in Residence, B. Sharise Moore, presented this hybrid workshop that debuted a database of children’s books by Black authors and corresponding learning activities.

Authors of children’s books and YA novels, many of whom are local to the D.C. metro area, shared their books during the conference through morning virtual read-alouds.

Throughout the four-day conference, Moore’s workshops allowed participants to connect books to learning activities. Participants were encouraged to think of ways to engage young people in reading, both in classrooms and homes. Activities ranged from students making dioramas to video summaries and much more. These intimate sessions provided participants with opportunities to not only connect with each other, but also to get to know Moore and her work.

The conference culminated with an in-person workshop at Sankofa Video & Books Cafe.

Moore kicked off the workshop with a book tasting, dispersing “menus” for each participant to utilize. Book tastings allow participants to sample various books when given a limited amount of time. Moore set up four different stations of books organized by age groups. Participants were given seven minutes at each station to “sample” the books. During that time, they were encouraged to fill out the menu.

The menu included three sections:

Name of Book & Author
Notes on the cover, synopsis, and first pages
Educators: Would you consider teaching this book? Why?
Students: Would you consider reading or sharing this book with others? Why?

As a result of the book tasting, participants left the workshop with a wish list of book titles, as well as a menu to refresh one’s memory. Moreover, participants were introduced to a variety of genres, authors, and literary and art styles. This was a great way to quickly interact with an assortment of books, along with the authors!

After the book tasting, Moore shared examples of projects her students had created after reading some of the books discussed earlier in the conference. For one of these projects, students designed a shoe that represented a character’s personality from the book Ghost by Jason Reynolds. The students were instructed to think beyond just what type of shoe (sneaker, boot, ballet slipper, etc.) the character would like.

Moore shared dioramas her students made after reading a different book to introduce students to the elements that create a strong setting in a book. Both of these examples were good reminders of how important it is for students to have an opportunity to share what they have learned from, as well as what was important to them, about the books they are reading. The diversity in finished products showed how students will interpret a book differently, something that is important for all educators to remember.

Check out the overview recap of the conference: