Black publishers asked to step up critical role in youth literacy

Ron Sims clearly recalled the day his father told him to do a book report on James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time after his high school teacher told him that “African Americans had no history worth reporting.” Sims, now the County Executive of the Martin Luther King Jr. County in Washington, said that moment led to the changing of the course of his life and allowed him to dispel the stereotypes of African-Americans and the ignorant perceptions of their history that even some teachers espouse. In a keynote speech at the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Black Press Praise Breakfast, Sims stressed that the link to success is literacy. He challenged the Black Press to step up its critical role in making sure more youth are positioned for that success. Read more of this article from BlackPressUSA.com.