My View
Inspiring All Youth Through Diverse Classroom Libraries
BY DAVID C. BANKS/School Administrator, September 2020

STORIES OF GREAT leaders of color shaped me as a young man. I was inspired and driven by reading stories of people who represented me, written by people who looked like me.

By sharing dimensions of my experience as an African American, these writers showed me that I could be my own protagonist — I could be a leader, I could be brave, and I could make a lasting impact on the world.

This is the philosophy I’ve been living my entire life as an education leader. As a founding principal of a network of public schools across the five boroughs of New York City and Newark, N.J., focused on educating young men of color, I’ve seen how students thrive when they have positive representations of people like them overcoming obstacles through dedication and bravery.

Inspiring Messages

Right now, there isn’t enough literature accessible in schools that centers the experiences of people of color, and this all too often leads to disengagement from school for these students. The lack of representation begins as early as kindergarten, which is why I curated a specialized library with Scholastic. The Rising Voices Library is a collection of inspiring books for K-5 students, each featuring a protagonist who is a man or young man of color.

One of my favorite books in the collection is Bippity Bop Barbershop. An incredible story about the bravery of a young man named Miles who goes to the barbershop for the first time, it explores themes central to Black identity and community. But most importantly, it shows a young Black boy bravely navigating a new experience, one all Black boys can relate to and see themselves in.

We must provide students with more stories like Miles’ to not only validate students’ experiences but to inspire them to believe in themselves. When we empower young kids to reflect on the characteristics that make someone a hero, as well as a resilient problem solver, they learn they can do the same.

A Proud Action

One of my proudest moments as an educator was during my years as the principal of the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice when our students stepped up as their own heroes and tapped into their collective power. A cigarette advertisement had been posted on a billboard across the street from our school, and our students immediately rallied to remove this billboard.

In science classes, the students studied the harmful impact of nicotine on the body. In social studies, they researched laws on tobacco advertising in proximity to schools. In math, they worked on estimating the distance from the front of the school to the bill-board. In English, they wrote letters to the mayor.

When we heard from the New York City mayor’s office that the billboard would be taken down, we brought 25 of our students to City Hall where they stood side by side as the mayor signed into law an order that the billboard be removed. When the cigarette advertisement finally came down, our students screamed in delight. They had stepped up like the protagonists in their stories, and they had seen how they could make their world better and safer for themselves and each other.

This is the power of “woke” kids — students who have been inspired and awakened to the world around them and their power in it through literature. As a community of educators, we must make a commitment to provide our students with the tools necessary to be successful, engaged and empowered citizens, and I believe that begins with the stories we share with them.

DAVID BANKS is president and CEO of the Eagle Academy Foundation in New York, N.Y. Twitter: @Realdavidcbanks