Last week I shared a list of black owned bookstores and publishers to support now and going forward! I don’t know how comprehensive it really is, but I counted somewhere between 60 and 65 entries. I am proud to say my publisher Eyeseeme is among them!
As author illustrator of Jonathan’s Number Party, which features African-American children and children with disabilities - and as someone with a lifelong visible disability - I too have Experienced how crucial and life changing it is to be represented and included. Working at TD has given me a privileged opportunity to not only live that experience, but get used to it! WOW!
So it took me a few days to wonder, just how many disability focussed publishers and or bookstores there might be out there. And I did a very quick search using that loaded gun of a word “disability” and I came across ... wait for it... a total of 2!!! 😮 That hurts!
Then again, maybe I am very, very, very blessed. This stat shows I am a front runner. Front runners can transform the lives of those coming up behind them. I hope my words my art, book, my being me, helps make life better and easier for others after me.
I believe everyone in the black community is a front runner right now. I hope you feel that. It’s BIG. It is, you are, worth it.
- Marina
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