BLACK BOYS READ

A PLANETARY PORTAL DEDICATED TO NORMALIZING READING IN EVERY HOME

Black Boys Read is a virtual and in-person book club. I was inspired to start this virtual book club during the pandemic where students greatly lacked access to books at McNair Elementary School on the west side of Chicago.

As you are aware, many students are not reading regularly at home. Additionally, pre-pandemic data reveals that only 14% of black boys read proficiently by 4th grade and only 15% of black boys read proficiently by 8th grade. Black Boys Read was created to address this dilemma and fill the gap between black childhood and reading.

Meet the authors:

KWAME MBALIA

D O N A T E

How?

First and foremost, with your support, these funds will allow me to create a space where reading can become normalized at home. All materials will be gifted to students. Students will receive a Chrome book, required texts, sticky notes, pens, bookmarks, and merchandise. At the same time, we can equip homes with reading and questioning techniques to improve student comprehension and analysis.

Celebrate the joys of Black boyhood with stories from seventeen bestselling, critically acclaimed Black authors--including Jason Reynolds (the Track series), Jerry Craft (New Kid), and edited by Kwame Mbalia (the Tristan Strong series)!

Black boy joy is…

Picking out a fresh first-day-of-school outfit.
Saving the universe in an epic intergalactic race.
Finding your voice—and your rhymes—during tough times.
Flying on your skateboard like nobody’s watching.

And more! From seventeen acclaimed Black male and non-binary authors comes a vibrant collection of stories, comics, and poems about the power of joy and the wonders of Black boyhood.

Contributors include: B. B. Alston, Dean Atta, P. Djèlí Clark, Jay Coles, Jerry Craft, Lamar Giles, Don P. Hooper, George M. Johnson, Varian Johnson, Kwame Mbalia, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Tochi Onyebuchi, Julian Randall, Jason Reynolds, Justin Reynolds, DaVaun Sanders, and Julian Winters

JASON REYNOLDS

Race through Jason Reynolds’s New York Times bestselling Track series, now in a complete boxed set.

Ghost. Patina. Sunny. Lu. A fast but fiery group of kids from wildly different backgrounds, chosen to compete on an elite track team. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. Discover each of their stories in this complete collection of Jason Reynolds’s explosive New York Times bestselling Track series.

TRACK SERIES

Reynolds wrote eight more novels, most notably the New York Times best-selling Track series—Ghost (2016), Patina (2017), Sunny (2018), Lu (2018)—and As Brave As You (2016). Ghost was a National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature and As Brave As You won the Kirkus Prize, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth/Teen, and the Schneider Family Book Award. Reynolds also wrote a Marvel Comics novel called Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2017).

JERRY CRAFT

Virtual Performances

Performances