At CMLE, we love books and we love to celebrate. When the two go together, it’s fantastic. That’s why we’re definitely excited to take part in the African American Read-In!

On Tuesday, February 20th, from 11am – 1pm (but we’ll be here all day with books and refreshments so feel free to drop in as your schedule permits) at our HQ location, we will be hosting an African American Read-In event!

What is the African American Read-In? Great question!

“During the month of February, schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations, and interested citizens are urged to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month by hosting an African American Read-In.”

We were so inspired by this page of resources from the ReadWriteThink website that we decided to host our own event. The NCTE website gives an overview of what to expect at a Read-In event:

“The format of these events varies widely, but all events have a few things in common:

• Texts written by African American authors are shared.
• Participants either listen to or provide the readings.
• A count is taken of who attends, and that count is documented in the “report card” as a measure of the global reach of this program each year.”

Our event will have library books by African American authors available to browse and read, as well as several booklists with recommended reading titles available for you to take or review. Light refreshments will be provided, and Office Dog Lady Grey will provide her soothing presence.

Join us to discuss and share books written by African Americans! If you would like to come prepared with your own books to share, this page has six booklists to get you started.