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Do you remember the Florida barber shop that encouraged young boys to read by having books in the shop for the clients? An attorney in Alabama was so inspired that he just launched Books for Boys. At first, the lawyer, Freddie Stokes, set out to establish small libraries of about 75 books each in two or three barbershops. But he got such a great response that he will be able to set up libraries in at least six barbershops, with the first opening in mid-June.
According to Stokes, the libraries will be stocked with books with which Black boys can identify, such as Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X, 12 Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali and Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope.
“When our boys say they don’t like to read, a lot of that is coming from not being interested in reading about characters that don’t look like them,” he says.
“In a few short weeks, Stokes’ grassroots effort raised more than $1,500 on GoFundMe,” reports The Root.
Stokes says he hopes that others get inspired as he did and push the Books For Boys literacy movement nationwide.
