Can you please share a little bit about your background and why you’re so passionate about literacy?
My literacy journey began around the age of two. My mother read to me often and taught me at home up until I was four years old. I was then enrolled in the head start program that my grandmother, through activism and advocacy, helped to bring to South Florida. It was during that program that I was tested for early admission to kindergarten and entered at age four.
I am living proof that all of those programs that were initiated in the late 70s for literacy did in fact improve the outcomes of children, especially like myself, growing up in economically deprived environments (today we call them urban areas). I am passionate because I know firsthand the difference early intervention and introduction-to-literacy-based programs made for me. I will forever be an advocate because I have been a beneficiary.
When we heard you use the phrase literary redlining we immediately needed to know more.
Can you briefly explain the concept of redlining?
Redlining is a discriminatory practice in which services are withheld from potential customers who reside in neighborhoods classified as “hazardous” to investment; these neighborhoods have significant numbers of racial and ethnic minorities and low-income residents.
How does redlining apply to literacy?
I use the term to describe how a public service or good can be withheld. In the specific case, access to books and other resources through a library, due to the inability to pay for fees that might be incurred (late fines, printing fees). Many people cannot afford to buy books or create a personal library due to various reasons (like physical space or unhoused individuals). If they cannot afford the cost of a book, incurring fees on an item could also pose an economic barrier.
You mentioned literally paying off student library debt yourself to help students graduate. This is obviously not a sustainable solution to a systemic issue. Many of our readers would like to help to permanently improve access.
Yes, there was a case where a few of the students I worked with when I was a librarian assistant had outstanding fines. The school policy at the time indicated that unpaid fines for the school could prohibit a student from receiving their diploma. I paid the fines due to the students not being able to afford to pay. Even as a student when I was in school this was a policy. I was surprised that kind of policy was still in place in any school.
What can folks working in libraries do to help?
If your library is not already a fine-free institution, please advocate for that first and foremost.
If your library has a budget or a fundraising arm, consider establishing a fund that pays off fines for members.
What can folks on the outside do to support access?
The way I support access is by supporting my local free library network. In my community we have three free libraries that are continually restocked. I encourage giving books away for free that are in good condition.
Do you know of any organizations doing this work?
I also support community work like the Free Black Women’s Library located in NYC. This is a free library space where you can bring a book and take a book. They also host community events to support authors and literacy in general.
Photo taken at Sankofa Books in DC.
Are there any books or resources you’d recommend library and education workers read to learn more?
There are a few on this list, from The Core Collaborative, that I have personal knowledge of and many other resources that tackle inequality with regard to students in underserved communities. My first introduction to the topic was through the work of Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities.
List: 19 Essential Books to Understand race and Equity in School.
How can we support you and your work?
My approach to this work is multi-pronged.
Direct Instruction — I tutor and teach children and adults in the area of literacy. I cover Pre-k through Adults. My concentration is on neurodivergent clients, as I am neurodivergent myself.
Literary Donations and Acquisitions — I shop for older adults who are looking for reading materials and I also take donated materials to my little free library sites to keep them supplied for the broader community.
Read Aloud and Discussion Podcast — I call it the “reading rainbow for adults.” I host a podcast (Daring Dialogues) where I read 5-7 books per season on various topics (self help, spirituality, finance, health, relationships, history) and discuss them. This has helped those who cannot read well, those who cannot focus on reading physical text, and those who simply want to follow along and increase the kinds of books they are reading to partake in. My goal is to increase accessibility and to broaden the scope of the kinds of things people read. The biggest feedback is those who can afford the books who purchase them, and those who never would have read a history book or a book on finance be more open to reading outside of their preferred genre.
If you would like to support this work, you can tune in/subscribe to my podcast ‘Daring Dialogues’ or you can donate towards the purchase of books via linktr.ee/shantaecharles .
My social media pages and my podcast dedicated to books and literacy are also linked there.
Are there any projects you’d especially like to share?
My ultimate goal is to open a gathering space that will combine arts and a literary cafe space with a free library; but that is a bit further in the future.
