Did you hear about the stampedes that took place all around the country over the release of $180 “retro” Air Jordans? I was already thinking about launching a new literacy initiative but this news prompted me to act sooner rather than later. According to a recent article in The Root, African American buying power is approaching $1.1 trillion. Target Market News breaks down the consumer data to show that in 2009, African Americans spent $321 million on books—that’s a lot of money, but it’s clear that a lot more money was spent on other goods and services (including $2.8 billion on non-alcoholic beverages). So how do we get people to invest more money in books? I’d love to poll all those people who lined up for sneakers last night and find out just how many books they have in their home. Because we know that having a home library increases a child’s chance of succeeding in school. Buying sneakers is not an investment—buying books IS. But I’m not trying to guilt parents into surrendering their sneakers and video games or any of the other things on which they spend their disposable income. Instead I think we should take a “village” approach. If you know a child who’s growing up without books, do something about it when that child’s birthday rolls around. If you want to buy toys for your child, then ask your family and friends to buy books so that your child gets the best of both worlds. I’m hoping people will take the Birthday Party Pledge and commit to giving books as gifts for at least ONE year. I’ve set up a new site and we hope to do an official launch in 2012. Do you think we can convince people to take the pledge?
I’m thoroughly enjoying my low-consumption Christmas and hope you’re enjoying the holidays, too!
Fledgling 
Thanks for writing this and starting the Birthday Party Pledge.
I think a lot of us feel this way, Michele—I just hope we can connect with those who’ve never given a thought to having books in their home.
I’m thinking though, isn’t related to this a need to change how kids define “cool”? All kids want to be cool, unless they’re resigned to being nerds, which messes with their self-esteem anyway. Maybe advocating for education to expose the ways in which advertisers and corporations seek (fairly successfully) to define our needs and wants, and define how we define ourSELVES? (ha ha, just kidding, as if schools would teach that!)
I think we have to be very careful when it comes to making statements about other people’s consumption. We definitely want people to think critically and make sound decisions but this is an issue that rooted in class and culture; I don’t want it to come off as “the talented 10th” telling working class folks what to do. On the other hand, I definitely see posters and video clips with celebrities promoting the idea of buying, giving, and reading books. Aside from Kanye West, I’ve actually never heard a child say, “Reading’s just not cool.” They’ll say certain books are wack, but that’s a different problem…
I like giving books as gifts.
I’m sure you do! I want to make sure we don’t end up just preaching to the choir with the BPP. How do we reach people who have never even considered buying a book as a gift? or even for themselves?
I definitely agree with the idea of giving books. I gave my son a book for Christmas because i knew everyone else would get him toys. Its a graphic novel, but I’lll do anything/find as many interesting books I can, (comic or novel) so that he’ll “enjoy” reading. As a man of color, i didnt enjoy it until I was maybe in my early 20s. Also gave a book to my cousin.Wasnt sure if he’d like it or if he’ll read it, but he surprised me by saying he was looking for something to read. I told him that if he didnt like it, there were waaaay more other ones I would recommend. I too am working on passing on this kind of love.