I’m a literary consultant and have extensive experience in doing book-driven events. My company, The Literary Media and Publishing Consultants, has produced events all around the country under the banner of The Literary Café™ for adult authors. I looked around the community and saw wonderful book-driven events for adults, but nothing for our children. I asked around town and kept hearing that Black people don’t buy books for their children. I was horrified because I knew that in my circle, people bought books for their kids. This simply wasn’t true. I was on a mission .

Another issue is this myth that African Americans don’t read and won’t buy books for their children – especially hard cover. This is totally absurd. Access is the issue. Publishers and booksellers have to think out of the box. Go to the people – church bookstores, social and civic organizations. Here you will find a willing audience – willing to invest in their children.

African American consumers also need to be pro-active. When you walk into your local bookstore, if you don’t see African-American children’s titles on the shelves ask for some recommendations. Publishing is a business. Get your family and friends to buy at the location. If the bookstore knows they have an audience for African-American children’s books, you’ll see the difference.