removing the financial barrier to accessing books.

The Book Report Project™

Statement of Purpose

Literacy is opportunity. Literacy is power. Literacy is change. At Cultured Books, we believe literacy is more than reading and writing. We push reading materials focused on Black stories, written by Black authors, to Black readers.

America’s history is laden with iniquity, and colonial powers controlling education have long bypassed Black children in efforts to restrain Black Power. Educators and Literacy promoters across the states have been continuously fighting for increased attention, policy, and funding to support Black students and families' plights to combat the systematic education gaps. Research documenting the disparities between Black students literacy rates and white students rates are well known. The impacts of the disparities, such as less likely to graduate, more likely to be arrested, and a future perpetually under paid, are well documented. It’s time to research the opposite. What happens when Black communities have access to culturally relevant reading materials and opportunities to circulate knowledge?

Cultured Books Literacy Foundation’s inaugural research endeavor, The Book Report Project sets out to discover the trickle effects of increased reading and writing opportunities within Black homes, churches, schools, and streets. The project calls upon readers to submit book reports in exchange for a book, of their choice, at Cultured Books’ store. Readers’ works are valued, and their perspectives are needed. Therefore, we do not denounce readers’ work as worth nothing or free; they do not receive free books. No one's work should be worth zero, for everyones’ products have the potential to be profitable. The dignity behind the exchange process is upheld, as it has for hundreds of years in Black culture. Educating Black children on the heritage and significance of Black communities exchange systems and alternative currencies reclaims financial literacy education from colonial capitalist instruction. The effects of culturally informed financial literacy on Black communities and impacts of value infusion language for Black children’s self worth will be captured through adaptable research methods and art-based inquiries.  

Along with pushing historically significant financial systems, The Book Report Project expands students’ ideas concerning communication and expression. Public education systems push writing and other conventional forms of knowledge circulation within secular literacy standards. Black children are taught, either involuntarily or directly, their systems of sharing narratives and information are invalid. The Book Report Project seeks to uphold and empower Black communities modes of processing and sharing information. Thus, readers are encouraged to create book reports that are poetic, musical, and visual in nature. Reporters devise innovative, creative pieces inspired by their books’ knowledge to share their unique perceptions and stories with others in their circles. The impacts of valuing children’s’ opinions and empowering Black artists’ historical modes of expression will be documented over the research project’s duration.

Paired with the financial, creative, and community value system education, The Book Report Project’s final investigative purpose focuses on resilience and mental health. For too long, Black children’s mental health has been regarded as a symptom of poverty or inheritance. When in fact, resilience theory has shown there is evidence stating all children have the potential to overcome predispositions or familial mental health concerns. Literacy opportunities and choice have been some of the many protective factors shown to build up children’s resiliency. The Book Report Project inherently perpetuates children’s reading habits by providing them with additional books without financial barriers. With a team of mental health professionals onboard the research team, accurate and adequate psychological assistance and assessments will be provided to those participating in the research projects activities. The goal is to build children’s positive coping skills in the face of adversity by providing reading and creative outlets.          

Opportunity, power, and change are within reach. They lie within the hearts, minds, and hands of children across our neighborhoods, within our schools, and throughout our nation. We call upon you to partner with Cultured Books Literacy Foundation and The Book Report Project. With your partnership, we can continue to cultivate the initial stages of the research project and begin conducting the preliminary methodology requirements.

Black Readers Matter

Black Writers Matter

Black Artists Matter