Bessemer City High School Library Hosts African American Read-In on February 26
Are you familiar with the African American Read-In? This annual event was established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to encourage Black communities to read together and to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month.
At 9:00 a.m. this Friday, February 26, Bessemer City High School Library will host an African American Read-In.
Three members of the 100 Black Men Metro Birmingham will read books and share encouraging words: Chapter President Ronnie Rice, a lawyer; Birmingham Municipal Judge Chuck Price II; and Roy Williams, public relations director of the Birmingham Public Library. Serving as a fourth reader will be Jonathan Porter, senior vice president of customer operations at Alabama Power.
Rice, Price, Williams and Porter will share how reading has assisted their careers and why it is important for young people to read.
“Our goal is to include literacy in Black History Month so we will have our readers share their favorite book by a black author and a short summary of that book,” said Judith Gulley, librarian at Bessemer City High School. The African American Read-in Initiative (AARI) is the longest-continual celebration of diverse literature in the United States.
The 100 Black Men of Metro Birmingham is a chapter of 100 Black Men of America, an Atlanta-based men's civic organization with more than 100 chapters across the nation. 100 Black Men focuses on educating and empowering children and teens by providing positive adult role models and mentors.
Here is a brief bio of the three members of the 100 Black men of Metro Birmingham who will participate in Bessemer City High School’s African American Read-In:
Attorney Ronnie O’Brien Rice, Ph.D.
Attorney
Dr. Rice is the founder/CEO of the Law Office of Ronnie Rice. Dr. Rice serves as lawyer, mentor and business consultant, is a serial business owner, and has handled over $1 million in legal claims for Alabama residents.
In addition to serving as chairman and president of the 100 Black Men of Metro Birmingham, Rice is a board member of the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club and Public Athletics and Cultural Events Board (PACE).
A graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Dr. Rice has a Master’s and Doctorate in Education from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., and is a graduate of Miles College School of Law. When not busy at work or mentoring, Rice enjoys spending time with his two children, Chloe, 8, and Liam, 2.
Judge Price is with the Birmingham Municipal Court where he presides
over misdemeanor cases occurring within the City of Birmingham. Originally from
Montgomery, Alabama, Judge Price is a graduate of Morehouse College and received his
law degree from Creighton University School of Law.
After graduating law school, Judge
Price clerked for Justice Bernard Harwood on the Alabama Supreme Court from 2003-2004, and then joined the civil litigation practice group of Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker, LLC in 2005. After leaving Haskell Slaughter, Judge Price spent time as a solo practitioner before being appointed to the Birmingham Municipal Court in January 2017.
Roy L. Williams, Public Relations Director of Birmingham Public Library
A former newspaper reporter for 25 years, Williams has served as Public Relations Director of the Birmingham Public Library since September 2015. Williams, 56, is a native of Jacksonville, Ala. and a 1987 graduate of Jacksonville State University.
Williams is the author of 911, God Help Us - A Journalist's Tale of Faith: How Losing a Brother in Sept. 11 Terrorist Attack Transformed Reporter Into a Witness for God.
The book is a memoir about how Williams coped with losing his older brother when terrorists hijacked a plane and crashed it into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001. Williams and his wife, Patrice live in Birmingham and have two children Naja, 21, and Royce, 19, both students at Auburn University.
Jonathan Porter, Alabama Power Senior Vice President of Customer Operations
As senior vice president of customer relations at Alabama Power, Porter oversees customer operations for the utility’s business offices, customer service and business service centers, and online customer care for 1.4 million customers. Porter joined Alabama Power in 1991 as a customer accounting intern in its INROADS program. After graduating college, he worked as an underwriting analyst at Protective Life Corp. and a manager at INROADS Inc.
Since 2000, he has held several leadership positions at Alabama Power. Porter is a cum laude graduate of Tuskegee University, where he was a four-year letterman on its football team. He has a Master of Business Administration at UAB. A Bessemer native, Porter and his wife, Kima, have two daughters.
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