Boston Public Library celebrating Black History Month with "Black Is..." reading list
BOSTON – Boston Public Library is celebrating Black History Month as librarians have gathered dozens of new books aimed at sharing the African-American experience.
Opening a book and learning about your history, or even reading something g penned by someone that looks like you, is a journey Boston Public Library is taking on this month.
Ritse Adefolalu said there is a misconception about librarians.
"A lot of people think 'Oh you're a librarian so you must be reading all the time,'" said Adefolalu, a Lower Mills librarian.
The truth is, most librarians are focused on the bigger picture
"We spend a lot of the time trying to get other people to read," Adefolalu said.
The Boston Public Library is celebrating Black History month with their annual "Black Is..." booklist. It's 75 books that came out in the past year, and they aim to capture many aspects of the Black experience.
"Not just amazing stories that they can engage with or be entertained by but it's also something that they can be inspired by. They can say that this was someone who was a little Black kid just like me," Adefolalu said.
In Lower Mills, the library has had great response to their selection.
"Of course the adults are more knowledgeable of what's going on, so they are more engaged," Adefolalu said. "So they are trying to get the kids more engaged as well. Show them what's happening with these books and the history."
The key to all of this has been the diversity in the book choices.
"You can't just say being black means this and being black means that because it means all these different numerous things that you can't really capture in one statement," Adefolalu said.
Plus, even when the month is done, it doesn't mean you can't read the selection
"The book list is going to be available all year round. We will have those physical copies and you can also go online, to see all the books that we chose for this year," Adefolalu said.