"In Harlem, An Educational September to Remember"
August 26, 2014
Dear Neighbors:
What better way to begin the new school year than a September series of fun, intergenerational, reading-related programs and events, right here in Harlem!
Team TEN looks forward to seeing you at one or more of the events below. Please help spread the word, and feel free to email questions to [email protected].
Because it takes a Harlem,
Joe Rogers, Jr.
Founder/Facilitator
Total Equity Now
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September 1st: Two-Year Anniversary of Literacy Across Harlem Day!
On Monday, September 1st, we celebrate the two-year anniversary of Literacy Across Harlem Day.
Every month for two years now, TEN and our community partners have encouraged Harlemites to "#RockThoseReads," serve as first-day-of-every-month role models for reading and learning, by taking their reading materials out of their bags and carrying them proudly and publicly.
On September 1st, join us from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the northeast corner of 125th St. and 7th Ave. for a very special "#RockThoseReads Street Team" community-service project to promote reading in Harlem.
In addition to "read-ins," "read-outs," and asking passersby to recommend books to their neighbors, we will unveil a brand-new Literacy Across Harlem Day flyer!
Don't forget to tweet or instagram a "selfie" or "groupie," reading materials of the day in hand, to @TotalEquityNow with the hashtag #RockThoseReads.
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September 6th: TEN-H4K Book Drive Partnership Launch
Total Equity Now ("TEN") and Harlem4Kids ("H4K") (www.harlem4kids.com) are teaming up to collect and donate hundreds of like-new children's books throughout the 2014-2015 school year, empowering hundreds of Harlem children with the gift of reading.
Beginning Saturday, September 6th, families participating in H4K's "Storytime Saturdays"--a weekly program that encourages parent participation while combining stories, movement, sing-a-longs, making music, and counting in different languages--will have the opportunity to donate high-quality, like-new books each weekend. TEN will pick up and sort the books before delivering them to community-based homeless shelters and other transitional living facilities, expanding the personal and facility-based libraries that keep books within arm's reach of dozens of families for whom buying large numbers of books is not an option.
Click here to learn more about TEN's Literacy Across Harlem Book Drives.
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September 20th: 3rd Annual Literacy Across Harlem March,
Book Drive & Community Celebration!
Click here to view and print our 2014 Literacy Across Harlem March flyer!
Event Schedule (Saturday, September 20th)
1PM - Rally for reading! Your choice: La Casa Azul Bookstore (143 E. 103rd St. between Park and Lexington) or Sister's Uptown Bookstore & Cultural Center (1942 Amsterdam Ave. at 156th). Bring (or buy) a favorite book in order to #RockThoseReads (publicly display your identity as a reader) AND a new or like-new children's book to donate to a Harlem shelter.
2PM - Ready, set, go! Guided by knowledgeable community ambassadors past historic reading-related landmarks, enjoy delicious samples from TEN's Literacy Across Harlem Day partner cafes: East Harlem Cafe (104th & Lexington), Astor Row Cafe (130th & Lenox), and Cafe One (140th & Amsterdam)!
3PM - Arrive at Marcus Garvey Park's Richard Rodgers Amphitheater, in the heart of Harlem, for an interactive, family-friendly community celebration of reading and writing!
To join the march as a team, please email [email protected].
Tribute to Walter Dean Myers
This year's march, timed to build excitement around reading at beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, is dedicated to the memory of Walter Dean Myers (www.walterdeanmyers.net), the inspiring, prolific children's book author who joined the ancestors on July 1st.
Born in West Virginia, Brother Myers grew up in Harlem. Many of his best-selling books, such as Monster, are set right here in our community.
Like Pura Belpr�, to whom we dedicated this year's Visit Your Harlem Library Day back in June, Myers was fiercely committed to making sure that young people in Harlem and elsewhere saw themselves, their families, their communities, and their cultural backgrounds reflected in books. On March 15th, Myers published a powerful opinion piece in the NY Times, titled "Where Are the People of Color in Children's Books?"
We give thanks for the life and work of Brother Myers and for the powerful contributions of the many talented Harlem-bred and Harlem-based writers still among us.
See you soon!
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