Black History Read-Aloud “Lillian’s Right to Vote”

As we close out Black History Month, our founder, Trina Greene Brown, visited a local elementary school to do a read-along.

Click watch the video of Trina reading Lillian’s Right to Vote to a group of engaged 3rd graders:

Read on for more about her experience:

I spent months searching for the “perfect” book to read to my son’s 3rd grade class.  I ordered so many books on Amazon and polled other parents online to find the right book. In the process, I had the opportunity to interview author Jamia Wilson about her new book, Young, Gifted & Black as a potential reading book. My struggle to find a book that moved beyond slavery and bus boycotts; I was looking for a story that had breadth and depth; a book that encapsulated multiple phases of Black History.

After reading nearly 15 books with my son, who gave his reviews, we finally decided on “Lillian’s Right to Vote.” Lillian’s Right to Vote  deals with the difficult topic of institutionalized racism in America. Using flashback memories, the book is a “split screen” that positions the current uphill battles to the voting booth side by side with the historical uphill struggle for racial justice in America.

After engaging the students in a small discussion on the importance of voting, Trina facilitated a quick voting exercise to operationalize the concept of voting.

This was a powerful way to engage the young people in Black History while looking forward to build a powerful Black Future, wherein young people wield their power at the polls for good.