Culturally relevant teaching is a method where teachers relate course content as much as possible to their students. Often, this is not easy when districts & school libraries don't make conscious efforts to include writers and fictional characters from various backgrounds. ​

 

Literature is meant to be a window and a mirror. Most books young black males encounter in school are windows into others' lives, rarely is it a mirror they can relate to. No bookshelf will represent everybody, but it's time we give Mark Twain some repose and introduce our young scholars to the likes of Ezra Jack Keats, Floyd Cooper, & Langston Hughes.

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Research shows that students read better and read more when they read culturally relevant books. Developing a collection of culturally relevant texts takes a concerted effort. Not all books about African Americans, for example, apply to all black students. Some books merely perpetuate stereotypes. Others are too high or low for specific populations. Not all black diverse schools are the same; they range in socioeconomic status and culture. ​

 

The Leaders to Learners Classroom Library Grant will allow black male educators to teach and surround their students with literature that reflects their diversity in the broadest sense, addressing race and ethnicity, religion, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, and other particular circumstances unique to their experiences.