“Read in Color” initiative pushes to make reading more equitable

The “Read in Color” initiative at Little Free Libraries is pushing to make reading more equitable and bring awareness to the diverse population of young readers in Arizona. We spoke with Greig Metzger, Executive Director of Little Free Libraries, about the “Read in Color” program.

What are little free libraries?

“They are a global network of book exchange, book sharing boxes. There are over 135,000 around the world in 113 countries and all seven continents and it’s a great place to find a book,” Metzger said.

He added that if you have a book that you read and you would like to share it, these Little Free Libraries are a great place to put them to share with your neighbors.

What is the “Read in Color” initiative?

It first came out during the civil unrest from George Floyd’s murder in May of 2020.

“We’re based here near the twin cities and out of all of that chaos, we as an organization decided we needed to do something to hopefully instill greater understanding and empathy in our communities,” Metzger said.

He continued that that was ultimately what launched the “Read in Color” initiative.

This initiative is all about sharing diverse authors in communities and diverse books through the network of Little Free Libraries.

“It’s an unfortunate state of the world that we’re in is that a vast majority of books, especially for children, the main protagonist is either white or an animal,” Metzger said.