By Hilary Nichols

“This has to change, on my watch,” Yodit Mesfin Johhson realized. The need for change became urgent when her own son was in second grade. Her life’s work in racial justice organizing took a big pivot toward the education sector with one call. It was Black History month and there were no Black men on the Mitchell Elementary School’s faculty. Her son’s teacher called to ask if she knew any Black men that would read to his classes. Of course, Mesfin Johnson arranged a roster of volunteers that rotated through the school's reading hours all throughout February. The realization that her son had no Black male role models at school collided with her own awakening to spur a deep dive of research into the educational system. “It turns out that less than 2% of U.S. teachers are Black men,” Mesfin Johnson was aghast to learn.

But it is her personal ethos to ask herself, “If I am going to point out an issue, then how am I going to contribute to the solution?” So after informally arranging volunteers for a few months, Mesfin Johnson invited a fellow parent at the school to collaborate. Together, Dr. Tamara Tucker-Ibarisha and she approached the school’s leadership team and PTO to ask if they could produce an afterschool program. Their proposal was met with enthusiasm at first, until they told them it was to be called “Black Men Read.”

Yodit Mesfin Johnson is the president and CEO of Non-Profit Enterprise at Work or N.E.W. On a radio interview at W.E.B.U. with David Fair she introduced herself as “a mother, poet, activist, and strategist with an abolitionist mind and a visionary heart.” She is kept busy as a consultant, developer, and advisor at the University of Michigan research initiative documenting Black segregation, racism, and resistance in Washtenaw County. But when the Mitchell Elementary’s PTO president challenged the name “Black Men Read” with suggestions of “All Men Read” or “All Dad’s Read” Mesfin Johnson says, “that really radicalized me.” The school requested a more formal proposal rooted in evidence, which galvanized her efforts, and deepened her resolve.

Dr. Tamara Tucker-Ibarisha is a Phd Cellular and Molecular Biologist teaching in the university system. Her passion for education led her development of STEM initiatives for children of all ages. She is a co-founder of Black Men Read and focuses on the educational and creative aspects of the program.

The data was showing that only 15% of Black and brown kids in the district were reading at their grade level. “Why wouldn’t any and all efforts to address this disparity be welcomed?” Mesfin Johnson wondered. “Representation matters. You can’t be what you can't see.” Eventually the school embraced the program. The first Black Men Read event brought out 40 families.

“Anthony Morgan was the reader that night, and it was beautiful,” remembers Mesfin Johnson. “We believe that the rich tradition of oral storytelling was how communities thrived before the written word. Now, through books, we hope that young people and their families will carry forward these Indigenous traditions by engaging in readings and learning with us.”

After a series of Black Men Read events at the school that Spring of 2016, she began to note that the students they really needed to reach were often not able to attend. “They were the kids that had to get to the bus after school.” They partnered with Black Stone Books and Cultural Center in Ypsilanti, to offer this resource to a greater community. The monthly pop-ups were a great success. “Yet we really wanted to reach the children that might not be able to make the effort. We wanted them to know that we saw them, valued them, and loved them.”

The room was full, but it did not satisfy their mission if the children at the lower literacy rates were not in the room. The organization continued to experiment, move, grow, and change for adaptability, and for agility. And every year they applied what they learned. “We started to partner with the libraries, community centers, and places that were more proximate to those areas where these kids lived.”

When Black Men Read did pop-ups at the Ypsilanti District Library, the kids would see Darryl Johnson. They would see another reader at another location and another elsewhere. She started thinking, “What if they saw the same person consistently. It wasn’t enough for them to see a reader once and to never see them again.” With no other Black men in their school environment, she realized the program still had room to grow. “From my own experience, developing trust and a love of learning relied on relationships with the teachers and principals that I saw regularly. They became like family.” That’s when Black Men Read developed the Reader in Residence program.

Though costly, the Reader in Residence program is an important aspect of the arc of Black Men Read. “We don’t want to exist into perpetuity. We want to exist until the gap gets filled,” explains Mesfin Johnson. “Ultimately we wanted the school to have skin in the game.” To know the value and invest in a more diverse faculty so that these supplemental programs are no longer necessary.”

In the meantime, Black Men Read is on a mission. “We really believe we can dispel the myth that Black men are not engaged in their families and their communities, because it is a myth. In fact, per capita, Black men are more engaged with their families and communities than other men in our societies,” assures Mesfin Johnson. “In many ways, this is our love letter to the Black men who have been in our lives and in our communities. Black men are valuable,” adds Tamara Tucker-Ibarisha. “Black men are active participants in our communities. Though mostly that hasn’t been portrayed in the media. It's been really great for us to be able to lift-up and honor the men in our community in this way.”

After completing the BMR audition process,” Byron Roberts says, “I was honored to be selected. I have been a reader all of my life. Knowing the power of books to open mindsand inspire dreams, I am excited to share stories with young people.” He has read for BMR at schools, a bookstore, a church, a summer festival, and at the African American Cultural and Historical Museum. “When I read, I go all out to make the story come to life. I get to feel like a kid again, and I think the kids are drawn in by my excitement.”

With a roster of 50 Black male readers at 11 participating locations, Black Men Read interacted with more than 400 kids at these wonderful in-person events right up until the pandemic. The shutdown did not stop their offerings. It took a moment, but soon their on-line presence offered even more consistency with two Facebook live reads per week. And the response was unexpected. In person, 12-40 kids received the impact. Now, at-home classrooms, parent groups and pods all turn to the Black Men Read live feed. Their outreach numbered over 40,000 views. No one expected the social unrest that ushered in our current civil rights movement, but as the Nation’s focus shifted, the need for Black-centered curriculum became enormous for Black families and white families as well.

“The reality is most of the American education system has been whitewashed. We live in a nation that has valorized whiteness. So, if all of our kids are primarily learning a curriculum that is whitewashed or doesn’t speak to the lived experience, including the Black and brown, indigenous, or LGBTQIA lived experience, then these students are not being included in the story of their own education.” Mesfin Johnson does not mince words. “The stories of Black, brown, and indigenous people have been relegated to these miniscule points.” She asks, “How do I ensure that my son knows the legacy, ancestry, lineage that he and I and other Black folks are building upon?” Black Men Read is her answer. “We think our children need to see more than slavery narratives, or civil rights narratives. They need to see themselves in normal everyday ways, the same way we normalize whiteness in this country.”

Nuola Akinde, the culture and curriculum director of Black Men Read, is an early childhood educator. As the founder of Kekere Freedom School, her belief in play-centered learning is aligned with Black Men Read’s mission of a decolonizing program. Her reading list is thoughtfully crafted to normalize and uplift Blackness. Their criteria for books on their annual list titled “Books That Every Black Child Should Read” requires that all the choices have a Black or brown protagonist, with the goal to amplify black authors and illustrators as well. Mesfin Johnson shared her enthusiasm, “We really seek out beautiful stories and illustrations. We want children to open the pages and delight in themselves. Delight in stories that are just normal kid stuff.”

For example, the book Max and The Tag Along Moon (written and illustrated by Flloyd Cooper) is a beautiful story that holds a grandson and his grandfather close under the same moon. These stories are human stories to which every kid can relate to as celebratory, cautionary, historic, present, and future stories. Black Men Read is well-rounded. “We make sure that we consistently keep these ideas present.” Akinde offers, “Like seatbelts, we don’t just tell our kids to buckle up when there's an accident. And I think it's really similar for race and racism,” she continued. “We encourage conversations with kids on an ongoing basis, not just when there's an emergency or a crisis.” Black Men Read can be that consistent source, with over 100 in- person reads so far.

And the community agrees. Reader Byron Roberts expands, “I am proud that our organization is helping African American students to see themselves in hopeful contexts and demonstrating to students from all backgrounds that African Americans have a range of experiences and talents.”

“Initially,” Mesfin Johnson chuckles, “my goal was to put a Black subject book in the personal home libraries of all 7000 of the kids in our school district. Black Men Read has exceeded that goal by some. They have also gifted titles at their events funded initially with a grant from the Awesome Foundation and then the United Way of Washtenaw County. “We were proud to be one of the first investors in Black Men Read–helping children see themselves in the stories of culture, history, and everyday life. Having Black men lead the read is critical. I so appreciate the thought and visionary leadership Yodit and her team bring to our community. She is inspiring and motivates all of us to do better,” shared Pam Smith, CEO of UWWC. “I ardently cherish my memories of being read to by my grandfather and the connection it built between us. I am glad our community’s beloved children have an opportunity with BMR.” With their support the nonprofit has been able to gift over 7600 books. These partnering organizations are a crucial part of this non-profit. Black Men Read hosted a Black Joy kids’ corner at Ypsilanti’s Juneteenth celebration giving away over 300 books, with similar outreach at the Ann Arbor Summer Fest.

Book Box subscriptions are a new way that BMR further supports and expands their outreach. With carefully crafted boxes, families can bring the magic home and extend one with a BOGO ‘Buy one - Give one’ club kit. Subscriptions are $160 a year or $44 per box. Each box provides two books celebrating Black characters and the experience of Black people throughout the diaspora, along with full color activity books, and locally made crafts or gifts. Sharonda Purnell of Cocoa Healing Collective in Ypsilanti added essential oils for kids to craft their own bug spray and Black joy scents. Odia of AidoStudio offered locally made stickers, and Melvin Parsons gifted his heirloom tomato seeds that he harvests himself. “There is a lot of love in these boxes,” assures Nuola Akinde.

It is the love that draws people to this non-profit. “Before we opened the doors at Booksweet in August 2021,” Truly Render notes, “we made a list of people and organizations doing amazing work in the community, people that we wanted to partner with. Black Men Read was at the top of that list. Mesfin-Johnson shares the sentiment, “Truly and Booksweet are so aligned with our vision and mission. But I couldn’t imagine how meaningful this partnership would become. She really understood the vision and the mission of the organization,” affirmed Mesfin Johnson. The appreciation is mutual. "We love how this non-profit nourishes our community and we believe in their mission. Representation matters. It matters for the Black children in our community to see themselves as leaders, as writers, as readers, as caring and cared for community members. Representation matters for NBPOCs and white children too, addressing biases before they can form through loving connection,” Render offered. Booksweet continues to host Black Men Read outdoors in the warmer months at their Courtyard Shop on the northside of Ann Arbor.

Partnerships are a big component of this non-profit’s trajectory. Black Men Read intends to weave its mission with a number of correlating programs. “We were thrilled to collaborate withNuola Akinde, Yodit Mesfin Johnson, and Tamara Tucker-Ibarisha and their wonderful team on selecting books, designing the activities, and distributing kits of two books and a writing pad to 250 students across our service shared Catherine Calabro of 826 Michigan. The National Writing Education Organization was a natural fit. Reader Will Jones read The Word Collector by Peter Reynolds with students and co-facilitated a session for student writers to create their own word collections. “We look forward to future opportunities to read and write together with BMR!”

At one time Black Men Read had a hard time resourcing enough reader volunteers. At an annual NAAPID event during Black History Month this year, there was a volunteer for every classroom. Four hundred kids at STEAM Elementary School had a Black man read to them. “Twelve readers showed up. It is so fire, it blows my mind. It is the most beautiful thing in the world,” Mesfin Johnson reported. Martin Luthor King’s legacy was shared through the title, We March along with activities to prompt the classes to investigate and integrate “what leadership looks like and leading change in our community and this country,” Mesfin Johnson boasted. Activities are designed along with each read to deepen and secure the message.

“This isn’t rocket science,” Dr. Tamara Tucker-Ibarisha said. The premise of Black Men Read might sound simple, with the three-word moniker, and straight forward approach, but don’t mistake it. “We are sharing something very simple and asking it to really move the needle of society. To enact actual change. It is so much more than story time. This work is transformative. We are doing two things at once Centering and uplifting Blackness by using books with Black characters. And providing all the children with a new baseline of equality and equity moving forward.”

“Everything we need to know we learned in Kindergarten” is a catchy adage. But this non-profit takes that edict to heart. “We want every child to be loved, seen, and valued. We just really love all the children. And we want them to know that they are a part of the seventh generation. On the strand from seven generations back and building toward generations forward,” said Mesfin Johnson. “It is our calling and our responsibility from our ancestors. It is not a charity, or really a program about literacy. It is about doing the work our ancestors called us to do. Together, we’re helping our children re-shape their world and its possibilities.”

“It is one of the things I love about working with Yodit,'' Tucker-Barisha mused. “As a visionary, she reminds me that if we are successful, this organization should become obsolete. Our goals are to enact change. There will be a day when seeing Black men in classrooms and schools is normal. Families will find it normal to have books that feature Black characters and to buy Black dolls regardless of their background,” she shared. “I find it super delightful to think that one day the work will end because we accomplished the goal, and we can sit back and say, ‘We did it.’"

“Be the change you want to see in the world,” is more than their slogan. Dr. Tamara Tucker-Ibarisha and Yodit Mesfin Johnson addressed a complex problem with an elegant solution. But the problem won’t go away with their volunteers alone. “We can’t be the fix, but we can be the influence,” Mesfin Johnson offered. “The district has done a better job getting people of color employed in the school buildings.” But Black Men Read isn’t quitting just yet. “When we see Black men in leadership roles across the district, that’s what we want to see.” Not simply activists and organizers, Dr. Tamara Tucker-Ibarisha and Yodit Mesfin Johnson are change makers on a mission. As champions for equity and social change, they believe, “There is no greater antidote for hate than love and liberation.”

Find out more about Black Men Read at bmrkids.org. You can follow Dr. Tamara Tucker-Ibarisha at facebook.com/tamara.p.tucker, and Yodit Mesfin Johhson at facebook.com/yoditmj.