I'm reminded of the words someone spoke over us as a people. They declared it was easy to hide anything from blacks by placing it inside of a book. They were alluding to the ideaology that blacks don't read and so therefore the safest place for great secrets can be hidden within pages - masked behind the great paperback.
In my community I go on outreach excursions. I talk to parents. I see children. I see women and men alike who simply do not believe that books are an important tool to shaping the minds of our children. Their priorities are mismanaged buying bags of haircare products and pollutants but no books. The children are left wanting but the parent continues to claim "I don't have any extra money!"
Today I wonder if this previous spoken idealogy is more than an assumption by someone who probably doesn't care about our children. I care and because I care I did something about it. The only problem is my market is strictly parents who believe reading IS FUNDAMENTAL. My market is educators who know that our children are the future. My market is you because you know some child, somewhere.
If my market doesn't believe that reading is essential should I be forced to jump aboard the masses of manufacturers whose market research points out the fact that blacks buy rims and that creating anything educational will not survive our culture. As I sit here typing this, my children are reading "The Juice & Berries History Adventures" by Tamicia Currie. I am Tamicia Currie and I created The Juice & Berries Adventures because I know that reading is essential. More importantly, it's essential for my market to believe. Do you believe?
