Three Buffalo barbershops are participating in an inspirational and educational launch on Wednesday, March 2.
The grassroots Barbershop Bookshelf initiative is the brainchild of 5th grade teacher Ruqayyah Simmons, who enlisted the help of her friend Jelicia Jimenez, who is a school librarian. Together, the two have begun piecing together the program, which starts with collecting books that young Black boys can relate to. Ruqayyah has already purchased enough books to fill the three custom-built shelves that will be installed at Tyson Cuts on Carolina, The Standard on Allen Street, and SM 79 Barber Co. on Hertel.
“Artisan Tyshaun Tyson (The Left-handed Bandit) has been constructing the shelves,” said Ruqayyah, who initially dreamt up the idea, which was inspired by the little lending libraries that have been popping up all over the city. “When these boys are sitting around with nothing to do, they can pick up a book and read. A lot of these boys don’t have access to reading materials outside of school. Each bookshelf will feature brand new books with an emphasis on storylines that have black characters as protagonists, role models, and heroes. The books, for all age groups, will be switched out quarterly.”
Ruqayyah and Jelicia’s organization is called Black Boys Read Too, Inc. Their goal is to… “break the cycle of illiteracy and encourage African American boys to foster a love for reading. We seek to address the large disparities in literacy achievement by getting books in children’s hands by any means necessary.”
Ruqayyah told me that the effort is launching on the same day as Read Across America, which celebrates the birthday of Dr. Seuss. “We chose this day on purpose,” she said. “We want to change the narrative to highlight black authors and illustrators, as well as characters that young Black boys can relate to. Along with providing access to the books, which will remain at the barbershops, we plan on hosting literacy pop-up events and workshops throughout the year.”
While this particular literacy program is being launched in Buffalo, Ruqayyah and Jelicia believe that there is room to grow to other cities depending on the response. Similar efforts have been implemented by other organizations, but the Barbershop Bookshelf has enough unique traits to warrant community-wide backing. Plus, the more of these types of efforts rippling throughout the country, the better.
“Barbershops have become the meeting grounds and the social places for Black boys,” said Ruqayyah. “Some go every week, while others go every three weeks. They spend a lot of time waiting for their brothers or their fathers to get their hair cut. We feel that this is the ideal setting to get these (curated) books into the hands of young readers.”
Anyone interested in learning more, supporting, or contacting Ruqayyah and Jelicia may do so by visiting their Instagram page.