“There just weren’t as many books about people who looked like us,” they said
A woman in Almonte, Ont., was upset that the local library didn’t have enough people from different backgrounds, so she did something about it.
Renée Kokonya Sullivan and her husband, Bart Sullivan, have been holding a dance to honor Black History Month in the small town about 50 kilometers southwest of Ottawa for the past three years.
Kokonya Sullivan, who is from Kenya, said that each year at the dance they raise money for a different cause. When she went to the library a few years ago, she noticed that there weren’t many books by and for black people.
“We tried to find books about people who look like us, but we didn’t find as many,” she said.
Kokonya Sullivan said that she thought there would be posters and a table for all the books by black authors because it was Black History Month.
“I was sad; did you know that?” Then I thought I might be the only one who had seen it. “But so did my children, who love to read,” she told me.
“It was important that the books they read at the library showed them in a positive light.”
It’s great that black people and people of other races can go to the library and see that there are people of different races there.– Renée Kokonya Sullivan
The family was able to add 50 books to the library’s collection, including some by Maya Angelou and Harry Belafonte, thanks to the money they raised that year.
She also said that the library staff were happy to help add more variety and diversity to the collection.
Kokonya Sullivan said, “They told me that in the future, if I think of a book we should add to our collection, I should let them know.”
“They have also added books by black authors to their collection.” “Now I see a lot of books written by black people, which is cool.”
Library making change
Berta Madrigal, a library assistant at the Mississippi Mills Public Library’s Almonte branch, said that the library did have a small collection of books written by people of color, but they were hard to find.
Madrigal said that the library had made changes to make the Indigenous, Black, and LGBT book collections more visible and easy to find.
She said, “We always try to hear what the community wants, and we know that diversity is a big deal here.”
“The people who live in Mississippi Mills are changing quickly and in a lot of ways.”
Kokonya Sullivan said that everyone in Almonte needs to be able to read from different points of view.
“It’s great for other black people and people of other races to come to the library and see that there are people of different races,” she said.
“But it’s also good for the culture that’s in charge.”
All three of Kokonya Sullivan’s kids, Niah, 11, Jahawi, 8, and Tulia, 7, have found books they like.
Don’t Touch My Hair is Niah’s current favorite book. Niah said she could relate to the book’s main character, a girl who always has strangers touch her hair without asking.
Kokonya Sullivan said she is glad she could help the library reach more people.
She said, “It feels good to make a difference and to think about the people who use the books.”
Check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project that Black Canadians can be proud of, for more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians, from racism against Black people to stories of success in the Black community. You can find more stories to read here.