Sidney Keys III of St. Louis MO always loved reading, but he wanted to read more books by and about people like him. Realizing that this service was desperately needed, he started Books n Bros, a book club for boys to read African American literature.
Keys was inspired to create the club after visiting a bookstore that centered on black children’s literature. Shortly after visiting, Books n Bros was born. Keys’ mother, Winnie Caldwell, a distinguished online writer with a strong history of empowering communities, helped Keys set up Books N Bros. She stated that “Books n Bros is not only encouraging literacy within black culture & African American literature, but also entrepreneurship, financial literacy and endless possibilities.”
The Club’s mission is to encourage literacy among 8 to 12 year olds while combating racial stereotypes, since African American boys statistically stop reading within that age group. Members of Books n Bros vote on a book to read and then meet once a month to discuss it, share thoughts and select the next book.
Keys’s idea has been a success, and there’s no telling how far it could reach. It has already been featured in CNN, MSN, Ebony, the Huffington Post, Babble, the Oprah Magazine and a wide range of other well regarded publications. The club grows each month, but they’re hoping for worldwide reach and to make reading fun for boys all over the world.
It’s astonishing to think that Keys has already achieved something so incredible at such a young age. On the Books n Bros team page, it says that Keys’s “goal when he grows up is to be an even larger entrepreneur than what he is now and be an example for future young leaders.” It seems like he’ll definitely achieve that goal.
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