SETON FALLS, Bronx — A new collection of books celebrates the stories of Black and Latino boys.
The Rising Voices library was created by Eagle Academy Foundation CEO David Banks and the Scholastic Publishing Company.
“It’s the first library and book collection of its kind in the nation, where all the books are dedicated, really to boys of color, where the protagonists across all the stories of boys and men of color,” Banks said.
“We created it really because there was just a great need across America for young men of color, primarily, to see themselves in authentic text is so many schools where you go to and the libraries and boys of color do not see themselves represented in literature.”
The collection has captivated fourth- and fifth-grade readers at P. S. 111 in the Northeast Bronx.
Principal Cecelia Gutierrez shared with PIX11 News, Rising Voices “ties in with the work that were doing to make sure all of our students have equitable access to books that are relatable — books that tell their story.”
Rising Voices includes books and instructional materials for Kindergarten through the fifth grade.
The literature is both nonfiction and fiction, designed to help foster critical thinking.
