Efforts to Improve Literacy in Atlanta, Georgia

City Bookstores Offer Family Entertainment and Education

Aug 12, 2009

Atlanta, Georgia's African American bookstores, places like Shrine of the Black Madonna and Medu, are champions in the city's effort against illiteracy.

To build strong reading comprehension skills across youth and adult populations, city governments and educators must start early. Bookstores can be a key partner in this effort. The more clearly bookstores connect their offerings to societal needs, the more valued the stores can become to customers over time. Atlanta booksellers realize and act upon this knowledge.

Books and National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) released its analysis on the state of reading habits in America on November 19, 2007. Aptly titled, To Read or Not To Read, the analysis incorporated data gathered from more than 40 studies on the reading habits and skills of children, teenagers, and adults.

NEA’s chairperson, Dana Gioia, stated, "This study shows the startling declines, in how much and how well Americans read, that are adversely affecting this country's culture, economy, and civic life as well as our children's educational achievement."

Two important findings revealed in the study mirror what the National Governor’s Association found in their 2005 NGA Guide, Adolescent Literacy Needs Improvement in Information Age, and what the National Center for Education Statistics uncovered in their 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy.

Those two points were that the average prose literacy levels of adults between the ages 25-49 declined 1992 to 2003 at the same time that, on average, Americans between the ages 15-24 spent almost two hours a day watching television and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.

Bookstores throughout Atlanta do more than offer stories; they offer community, entertainment and history. To pull in readers of all ages, Shrine of the Black Madonna regularly host memorable events including author book signings, computer certification programs, kids’ storytelling and book club meetings. The store has been in the city longer than three decades and has become an integral part of Atlanta.

For history buffs and caretakers who wish to educate youth about their rich history, a visit to the bookstore’s African Holocaust Museum which opened in February 1991 is an excellent start. The exhibit allows Atlanta’s residents to remember great acts of courage made by ancestors of the African Diaspora.

While at the museum, customers can revisit laws that prohibited slaves from reading and writing, edicts that existed a mere 250 years ago. Following a visit to the museum, visitors and readers can browse the bookstore shelves and stand in awe of the sea of fiction and non-fiction stories covering a wealth of subjects, books written by offspring of the very people who once were prohibited from learning to read and write.

Author Book Signings and Readings

Medu Bookstore has been in business since 1993. The store offers visitors author book readings and signings, discounts to teachers, schools and libraries. Many of the books featured at the author readings offer instruction on topics millions of people think about including how to lose weight, how to strengthen interpersonal relationships and how to effectively manage personal and business finances.

Other Atlanta literary giants are Two Friends Bookstore and Tree of Life Bookstore. Tree of Life Bookstore has been offering readers written and audio literary, educational and entertainment resources for over three decades. The store was founded in Harlem, New York by Kanya Vashon McGhee who continues to operate the store. The bookstore has proven to be a positive outlet for recovering drug users and former prisoners by offering job information and connections as well as books at various reading levels that allow people from all walks of life to strengthen their literary skills absent shame or regret.

Below is a list of resources in Atlanta, Georgia that book lovers, parents, caretakers and educators can visit and explore.

Shrine of the Black Madonna

Medu Bookstore

Tree of Life Bookstore of Harlem

The copyright of the article Efforts to Improve Literacy in Atlanta, Georgia in Literary Culture is owned by Rhonda Campbell. Permission to republish Efforts to Improve Literacy in Atlanta, Georgia in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.