Young, Black & Lit expands access

Krenice Ramsey said Young, Black & Lit is expanding its effort to get children’s books featuring Black characters into the hands of more readers through schools and community programs in Evanston. The nonprofit grew out of Ramsey’s frustration during a 2018 trip to buy a birthday gift for her niece, she told The Daily Northwestern in a report published May 19. Ramsey said she could not find books with Black girls as main characters. Young, Black & Lit now describes itself as a 501(c)(3) that provides free books to youth in pre-K through eighth grade. ### How did the organization start? In 2018, Ramsey went to a bookstore looking for a book for her niece and left without finding what she wanted, according to The Daily Northwestern. “There weren’t any books with Black little girls as the main characters,” Ramsey said, describing the experience that led to the group’s founding. (dailynorthwestern.com) Young, Black & Lit says its mission is to increase access to children’s books that “center, reflect, and affirm Black children.” The group’s website says it does that by providing free books to young people and by working with schools and youth-serving organizations. ### What is expanding now? The May 19 Daily Northwestern report said the nonprofit is increasing availability through local schools and community programs in Evanston. (dailynorthwestern.com) The article described the expansion as part of the organization’s local outreach plans for this year. The group’s website says schools and youth-serving organizations can sign up for a donation waitlist. (youngblackandlit.org) It also says Young, Black & Lit partners with other organizations to widen access to books featuring Black main characters. ### How large is the effort today? Young, Black & Lit says it has distributed books since May 2018 and now donates more than 1,500 children’s books each month to schools and youth-serving organizations across the country. (dailynorthwestern.com) The organization presents that monthly figure on its website as part of its current operating model. The Reva and David Logan Foundation said in a recent grantee profile that Young, Black & Lit has distributed more than 145,000 books to children, primarily in the Chicago area, since it began in 2018. (youngblackandlit.org) That figure was not cited in The Daily Northwestern story, but it provides a measure of the nonprofit’s scale. ### Why does Ramsey frame the work around access? Ramsey told The Daily Northwestern the issue was not only whether such books existed, but whether families could easily find them. (youngblackandlit.org) The organization’s website also frames the work as removing barriers by giving books away free to children in the target age range. (loganfdn.org) Young, Black & Lit says its focus is on books that affirm Black children while also serving schools and community groups that want culturally relevant titles. That language appears across the nonprofit’s public materials and in the Daily Northwestern account of its local outreach. ### What happens next for families, schools and partners? (dailynorthwestern.com) Young, Black & Lit says schools and youth-serving organizations can join its donation waitlist through its website. The group also says organizations interested in sponsorships or partnerships can review its partnership materials online. The Daily Northwestern’s May 19 report said the next phase of the effort is continued outreach in Evanston through schools and community programs. (dailynorthwestern.com) Ramsey is the named founder tied to that expansion, and the nonprofit’s website is the place where participating organizations can sign up. (youngblackandlit.org)