Wednesday, September 8, 2021

“When you learn to read, you will be forever free,” boldly stated by Frederick Douglass. That

statement remains true today. Literacy is a blessing often taken for granted. Reading is

essential in our daily lives. Navigating through the world without being able to read or write

is challenging and is a blockade for experiencing so many things.  Literacy has been a serious

issue and goal among African Americans since slavery when it was criminalized for enslaved

people to learn to read. And many schools today are failing to teach Black children to read,

allowing them to complete their basic studies without the ability to read. This has serious

effects on self-esteem, mental and physical health, and employment prospects.

International Literacy Day takes place on September 8 every year to raise awareness and

concern for literacy problems that exist within our own local communities as well as

globally. Although much progress has been made in improving literacy rates in the more

than fifty years since the first International Literacy Day, illiteracy remains a global problem.

There are thought to be more than 750 million adults around the world who cannot

read. Get more information about addressing this serious problem. And help someone learn

to read!