Books and literature are the key to changing the world. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Just look at these BIPOC advocates for literacy and education who have seriously changed lives and the shape of American history. Take a look at historical figures who made waves then and the people who are our biggest literary and educational heroes now. As long as we keep championing books, there’s still hope for our future.
BIPOC Literacy and Education AdvocatesAbsalom Jones (1746 – 1818)
Absalom Jones was born into slavery in Delaware and taught himself how to read and write. After buying his family’s freedom, Jones became America’s first Black priest and advocated for educating Black Americans as a path to freedom and autonomy. In 1795, Jones founded the African School in association with the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas. The goal of the school was to educate Black children and give them the same educational opportunities that white children receive at schools lead by white educators. To learn more about Jones and his activism, read American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr., which includes Absalom Jones’ anti-slavery sermons.
Frederick Douglass (1818 – 1895)
Like Absalom Jones, Frederick Douglass was born into slavery. When he realized that education and literacy could be his key to freedom, Douglass taught himself how to read and write by reading and copying words from spelling books and reading tracts. In 1845, Douglass wrote his memoir Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, which gave voice to the enslaved person’s experiences and challenged racist misconceptions that enslaved people did not have the capacity for independent thought.
Ida B. Wells (1862 – 1931)
Civil rights leader and investigative journalist Ida B. Wells began her career as an educator in the American South. In 1889, Wells became the editor and co-owner of The Memphis Free Speech and Headlight newspaper. This Black American newspaper protested against inequalities in the education system, lynchings, Jim Crow laws, and other racial injustices. In 1909, Wells co-founded the NAACP. You can read Wells’ writings in The Light of Truth: Writings of an Anti-Lynching Crusader. And check out Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells.
Zitkála-Šá (1876 – 1938)
Zitkála-Šá, also known by her married name Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, was a political activist and one of the first authors to introduce traditional Native American stories to white American readers. She also wrote several autobiographical essays that exposed the difficulty and emotional hardship of forced assimilation. Some of Zitkála-Šá’s notable works include Old Indian Legends, a collection of Native American legends, and American Indian Stories, stories on race, identity, assimilation, and perceptions of Native American culture.
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875 – 1955)
Mary McLeod Bethune was an activist who sought to empower Black women by giving them access to education. Bethune opened the Daytona Literary and Industrial Training Institute for Negro Girls in 1904. The first year it opened, the school had only five students. Now, the school is known as Bethune-Cookman University and is one of the most prominent HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges or Universities). To read more about her activism, read these books of her collected works Mary McLeod Bethune: Building a Better World, Essays and Selected Documents and Mary McLeod Bethune: Words of Wisdom. And there’s a new biography from author Noliwe Rooks, A Passionate Mind in Relentless Pursuit.
Hisaye Yamamoto (1921 – 2011)
Hisaye Yamamoto is a Japanese American author and Civil Rights activist who used her writings to protest against systemic racism and sexism. During World War II, Yamamoto was forcibly incarcerated in the Poston Internment Camp in Arizona at the age of twenty. Yamamoto started writing for the camp’s newspaper as a means of community connection and activism, and her writings and experiences in the camp would influence her work throughout her life. She later worked for the Black-owned newspaper Los Angeles Tribune, where she wrote about the systemic racism both the Black and Asian communities in America experienced. In her fiction, Yamamoto also spoke out against racism and the patriarchy. Her most famous work is her 1988 collection of short stories, Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories.
LeVar Burton
Actor, host, and activist LeVar Burton is one of the most well-known contemporary advocates for literacy. From 1983 to 2006, Burton hosted and executive produced Reading Rainbow, the Peabody Award-winning PBS children’s television series that championed children’s literature and made kids excited about reading. Burton has often spoken out about his passion for reading as a basic human right and a tool for social justice. In recent years, Burton has spoken out against book bans and has worked with MoveOn to fight against book challenges that target minority groups. Burton also executive produced the 2023 documentary film The Right to Read, which frames the American literacy crisis as a civil rights issue. Burton’s memoir Take My Word for It hits shelves on November 10.
Kareem Weaver
If you watched The Right to Read, then you are already familiar with educator and literacy advocate Kareem Weaver. Weaver is the co-founder and Executive Director of FULCRUM (Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate), a non-profit organization that treats literacy as a fundamental civil right and an important protection against civil inequities. Weaver is one of the most prominent advocates for the Science of Reading movement, which uses interdisciplinary research to identify how the human brain learns to read and the best instruction methods for teaching reading. You can read more about this in The Science of Reading: The Brain Science, Language Development, and Phonemic Awareness Behind the Movement.
Mychal Threets
Reading Rainbow is back, and the reins have been handed over to librarian Mychal Threets. Threets first became famous on social media, sharing his experiences and heart-warming stories about his work as a librarian. He is also a mental health advocate, often candidly sharing his personal experiences with anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, and autism. Threet’s debut children’s book I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy was released earlier this year.
Marley Dias
Marley Dias became a literacy advocate and activist at a young age. At 11 years old, she launched the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign because she was frustrated that most of the books she read at school were about “white boys and their dogs.” So she set a goal to collect and donate 1,000 books featuring Black girls as main characters. In her 2018 book Marley Dias Gets It Done, and So Can You!, Dias speaks to kids about how they, too, can become activists. She released her picture book I Am the Dream Come True earlier this year.
Cree Myles
Instagram influencer and digital organizer Cree Myles is the creator of All Ways Black, a “year-round celebration of Black authors and stories, our place to honor the depth and breadth of experiences around what it means to be Black” in partnership with Penguin Random House. Myles is also a YouTube content creator, focusing on book reviews, literacy advocacy, and more. For further reading, check out Myles’ Radical Roots Reading Series, a collection of used books by activist authors, annotated by Myles.
Inspired to become your own literary hero? Here are 15 ways you can be a literary advocate.