Each summer, librarians at the Willie Mae Kirk Branch Library in East Austin organize a Juneteenth Block Party.
This year, the bookmobile parked out outside the library, stocked with 112 books, free for people of all ages to take home with them.
Librarians Sharlisa Addison and Katrina Townsend chose the 57 titles, from “You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty,” a novel by New York Times bestseller Awaeke Emzi, to “I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams,” a picture book by Tanisa Moore and Richard Paul.
“We selected books that covered a large age range and provided the highest quality in storytelling, cultural relevance, and genre diversity,” said Townsend. “They also represented different African American authors or books that had main characters that were African American.
The Library Foundation funded the book giveaway, purchasing the 112 books, spending $1500 with local Black-owned book store Black Peal Books to do.
“Without the support of The Library Foundation, it would have been very difficult to obtain the books,” said Townsend. “It would have required us to subtract another activity from our program to cover the expense.”
