This is Crowdsourcing Mornings! This post takes place every weekday morning and highlights one crowdsourcing project I liked from Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or other crowdsourcing websites.
Please read our crowdsourcing guidelines at: https://geekalabama.com/media-kit-pr/geek-alabama-crowdsourcing-guidelines
My name is Shawna Wells, I am the Founder and CEO of B is for Black Brilliance. I am also an educator, a mom, a friend, and executive coach.
I grew up in a world where I rarely saw Black people or Black brilliance in books, movies, or lessons. My school supplies often had non-Black characters displayed on them and the heroes we talked about at school were rarely the same race as me. When I became a teacher in 2004, I was shocked to see that not much had changed from my childhood. I looked everywhere for books and stories about Black characters for my students to read and learn about Black brilliance in meaningful ways. Then, I was reminded of my own reflections as a child and young adult. There were very few stories about Black brilliance being told in my school.
My experience matches the statistics: in 2017 only 11% of all children’s books featured a significant Black character. This amounts to only 330 books— only 100 of which were written and illustrated by Black people. Only 2% of the characters on backpacks and school supplies are people of color. These are just a few of the facts impacting the mindsets of our students. We founded B is for Black Brilliance because it’s time to educate our children differently.
This fall, we’ll launch two books for babies (ABC book) and young children (non-fiction book) authored and illustrated by two Black creatives. Our book highlights the contributions of an eclectic group of Black and brilliant individuals.
As of July 8th, this project has raised $18,500 of their $18,000 goal. This project has 10 days left to raise as much as it can. For a pledge of $2, you will get one digital illustration poster. For a pledge of $30, you will get one book. To learn more and to pledge money, go to: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bisforblackbrill/b-is-for-black-brilliance-childrens-book?ref=section-homepage-view-more-discovery-p1
Categories: Crowdsourcing Mornings Stuff
