Check Out Meredith McKinney ’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Meredith McKinney .

Hi Meredith , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My name is Meredith McKinney, I am a Nashville native. I received my college degree from Oakwood University and graduate degree from Alabama A&M University. I am a former elementary school teacher. Currently, I work at The Board of Education for Metro Nashville Public Schools, as a Community Achieves Program Specialist. I sit on the board of directors for Book’em, a nonprofit organization that provides free books for Nashville’s children who live in economically challenging circumstances. I have volunteered with the organization for several years and noticed the visible lack of books representing African American children, which is the highest population of children the organization serves.

In response to this need, I created “The Black Book Project,” which is an initiative designed to collect books featuring Black characters for children that would typically not have the opportunity to own a book that represents them.

I fully understand how important a strong reading foundation is as well as the need for children to see themselves represented in children’s literature. Last year I set a goal to collect 500 books, and ended up collecting 1,396 books. This past February, the project had a goal to collect 2,000 books for Black History Month and collected over 2,400 books from the Nashville community and other supporting cities. Next year, the goal is to collect 5,000 books for Nashville’s children! I am excited to share that the Black Book Project gained national attention and was featured on PBS on July 22, 2022, the episode is linked below.

Articles about the project:

‘Representation Matters’ Metro Schools employee launches ‘Black Book Project’ | WZTV (fox17.com)

McKinney’s Black Book Project Draws 1k+ Donations – The Tennessee Tribune (tntribune.com)

https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/citylimits/the-black-book-project-champions-representation-through-literature/article_90cd4e1e-88ff-11ec-97fe-237bc47e068b.html

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/the-black-book-projects-mission-to-collect-more-black-childrens-books?_amp=true

https://www.pbs.org/video/episode-5-preview-make-tomorrow-come-today-9hnfvu/

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Honestly yes, it has been a very smooth road. I think people are able to really get behind this project for the obvious reasons. It is something that has been overlooked for far too long. My faith in humanity was completed restored while heading this project. I had many individuals from various backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities reach out to me to donate to our Nashville children in need, without hesitation. Honestly, I was in awe at the way the Nashville community almost effortlessly embraced the Black Book Project.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As the founder of the Black Book Project, I strive to engage and invite the local community to donate books featuring Black characters. As a child, I would take a brown crayon and color the faces of the white- skinned protagonists in my books to make them resemble myself. Today, not only is diversity still lacking in children’s literature nationwide, but books have become increasingly expensive. So, I launched the Black Book Project to collect books featuring Black characters for low-income children and youth and then distribute them through schools, non-profits, and community organizations.

What are your plans for the future?
My plan is to collect more books for Nashville’s children. The goal is to collect 5,000 books that feature black characters by the end of February, 2023! The books will be given to Nashville’s economically challenged children in honor of Black History Month. A portion of the books collected will also be placed on shelves at Book’em to diversify the organization’s inventory.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Theblackbookproject_
• Facebook: The Black Book Project
• E-mail: blackbookprojectnashville@gmail.com
• Black Book Project Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2PQR0L6UMHNIS?ref_=wl_share