Access Books Bay Area always has, and always will, stand against inequality. It is no coincidence that the students that we serve who are living in relative book deserts, with subpar school libraries and little access to pleasure reading materials in their homes, the students who live in poverty just miles from some of the wealthiest and best educated Americans, are also the vast majority of the children of color in the Bay Area. By providing access not just to new and interesting books that activate the imagination, but also to culturally relevant books that reflect the experiences of children of color as well as showing them new horizons and ways of being, we hope to do our small part in helping to level the playing field for the children we serve, and to stand against the systemic inequality inherent in our public education system, which has only worsened as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. And while this fundamental stand against inequality is already contained in our core mission statement, we believe that recent events, including the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, which have brought the national spotlight to our ongoing problem in this country with race and inequality, just make our mission all the important.
We believe that all children deserve access to the world of reading and the opportunities it provides, and especially the children of color in our Bay Area community. Children of color are often navigating redlined and neglected neighborhoods, underfunded schools, classroom curriculum and library collections which do not reflect their lived experience, and now are additionally faced with complete lack of access to school and public libraries. Please join us as we stand against inequality, one book at a time, working to ensure that every child has access to books in these difficult times. 100% of every donation made to Access Books Bay Area at this time goes to purchasing books for students living in poverty in the Bay Area.
