PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Visit Philadelphia has launched a new initiative for Black History Month to make hundreds of banned books by Black authors available to readers.
The Little Free(dom) Library project is aimed at encouraging Philadelphians to explore Black history. Together with the Free Library of Philadelphia and Little Free Library, Visit Philadelphia placed boxes in 13 visitor hubs across the city. More than 1,500 books by Black authors are distributed through those boxes.
According to free speech nonprofit PEN America, more than 30 states have banned certain books by Black authors. As Visit Philadelphia’s CEO Angela Val says, the Little Free(dom) Library initiative demonstrates Philadelphia's commitment to making these stories accessible to both visitors and residents.
“We understand that our history in America can be complex but we celebrate it here in Philadelphia,” said Val, “and we do that by also telling Black stories — which are also American history stories.”
Loraine Carter and her two daughters spent the weekend visiting Philly museums, historic houses and the Little Free(dom) Libraries. She calls the project outstanding, but warns the books are going fast.
“We took books and when we came back … many were already taken. They were gone,” she said.
The Little Free(dom) Libraries can be found throughout the city at the following locations:
1. Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch Street
2. Columbia North YMCA, 1400 N. Broad Street
3. Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, 2027 Fairmount Avenue
4. Faheem’s Hands of Precision, 2100 S. 20th Street
5. Frankford Community Development Corporation, 4667 Paul Street
6. Franklin Square, 200 N. 6th Street
7. Historic Germantown, 5501 Germantown Avenue
8. Johnson House Historic Site, 6306 Germantown Avenue
9. Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, 419 S. 6th Street
10. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
11. The Independence Visitor Center, 599 Market Street
12. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 S. Broad Street
13. South Street Street Off Center, 407 South Street