Young Leadership at Inglenook Library

(l-r) Quinton Moore, Jamaya Smith, Jakayla Pratt, Tarayonna Chambers

During Inglenook Library’s Young Leadership program—a reading program intended to cultivate leadership skills in children and give them a sense of empowerment and community by having a participant in the group read a book aloud, ask questions based on the book, and facilitate a craft—something amazing happened. A young lady read Taye Digg’s Chocolate Me and a discussion about being happy with one’s self and being emerged. The children gave testimonies in how they’ve struggled with self-acceptance and how they’ve come to be happy with their skin complexions and even imperfections albeit name calling and teasing. The discussion lasted for some time as children fed off of each other’s responses. One young lady was so excited that she said that she is going to convince her mother to bring her to the library every Monday, which is the day the program is held.

This program gives children a voice and a platform to discuss and target issues prevalent in their lives through books expressing the same issues, similar to what the library world calls bibliotherapy. Get ready for the next generation of healthy, confident, and strong leaders!

Karnecia Williams
Inglenook Branch Library