The PBS Blog

I’m a simple woman, and by simple, I mean it doesn’t take much to make me happy. As the scripture says, “I have learned to be content in whatever state I am.” (Phil 4:11).

This does not mean that people should do the bare minimum when it comes to me.

It just means that I can be just as excited about a new book, a cute notebook, and a fancy pen as I would be about a surprise trip to a new country.

So when I got off a call on Friday with a woman who said that their store had acquired a copy of my Black History book, and that it was also available on their website, it made my heart happy.

How the heck had my book made it all the way to Saugerties, New York?

So I’d like to shout out to Inquiring Minds Bookstore & Cafe for their support and for sending me a picture of the book when I asked cause they really ain’t have to do that.

And it’s just in time for Black Reading Month!

Black Reading Month

Black Reading Month (honored in September) started in Detroit in 1980 to encourage people to read at least one book by a Black author.

Njia Kai, affectionately known as “Mama Njia,” took it a step further with the “Turn Off the TV” challenge, encouraging participants to unplug and immerse themselves in reading.

Malik Yakini, Co-Founder, September Is Black Reading Month: Okay, I’ll just give a very brief history. In 1969, I was involved in an organization called, “New Directions Information Institute” and one of the things that we did, is we distributed Black books and magazines to various stores throughout Detroit. So, we noticed, for example, that in the supermarkets, where they always have kind of magazines near the checkout counter, that none of those magazines were magazines that explored any aspect of the Black experience in a city that was overwhelmingly Black. And so, something was wrong with that picture to us.

And not only were we selling magazines, we were also selling various books, primarily from the Third World Press, which is headed by Haki Madhubuti. But what we noticed is, at the end of the month, we were able to make inroads and develop relationships with many of these stores where we could get the magazines in the stores on consignment. But when we came back at the end of the month, either one or two had sold or none had sold. And so, it’s always more than a question of access, but we needed a campaign within the Black community, in Detroit in particular, to emphasize the importance of reading Black books as a way of becoming familiar with our own cultural and historical experience.”

– Detroit PBS

But why September?

Organizers chose September because it coincided with kids going back to school, naturally aligning with a peak in book buying.

“Our idea then, as well as now, is that this profound sense of being informed about our own culture and history is necessary for us to move forward in a sane and balanced way.”

– Malik Yakini, co-founder of September is Black Reading Month