The Summit

The summit began Sunday, June 3, 2012 and ended  on Tuesday, June 5th, 2012. This invitation only event was at The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, NC.  Watch this  video to experience the passion and excitement that enveloped the event.

Building a Bridge to Literacy was a working meeting that resulted in a report and webinar that will serve as a call to action for the library community.

  • Two keynote speakers, Dr. Ernest Morrell and Dr. Alfred Tatum,  and a panel of literacy and library science experts (Dr. Jane Gangi, Dr. Ernest Johnson, and Dr. Kafi Kumasi)  laid out the scope of the literacy achievement gap for African-American males and presented potential strategies for addressing the gap.
  • A panel of public and school library representatives (Dr. Mellisa Jenkins, Karen Lemmons, and Stephanie Wilkes) from communities that serve large populations of African-American youth discussed the current state of library services and programs designed for African-American youth. Panel members were asked to share their successes, as well as the challenges they face in serving the needs of these youth.
  • Young African-American men, four who are part of the Centennial Scholars Program at North Carolina Central University,   shared their experiences with books and reading, and with public and school libraries.

Many of the  materials that were created during the summit can be found by clicking on the links below.

Summit Agenda

Summit Presentations

Key Concepts and Recommended Action Steps

Photo Collage

Quotes

Participant Interviews