LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When was the last time someone read aloud to you? For some Jefferson County high school students, that happened very recently. Local “celebrities” from the community read some of the works of Black authors to students.

What You Need To Know

  •  The National African-American Read-In was created in 1990

  •  The effort, according to the Read-In website, is to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month

  •  Dozens of educators, judges, attorneys and professionals were invited to read to Central High School students

  • Students said they enjoyed being read aloud to

It is a part of the National African-American Read-In effort, launched to promote literacy as part of Black History Month.

In Judge Lori Goodwin’s eyes, reading is fun! When she reads a book, she said she can imagine the characters and create the scenes in her mind, kind of like a movie. So, she knew she wanted to read aloud to high school students here at Louisville’s Central High School.

“I thought it was awesome! I love to read. I hope the kids enjoyed it.” said Goodwin, who is a Jefferson County Family Court Judge for Division 3. “I hope I was able to encourage them to read more outside of school.”

Goodwin read an excerpt of “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas.

“Long story short, it is about the death of a young lady who has experienced the death of her friend who got killed by a police officer and how to use her voice to magnify the importance of his life and also the importance of standing up for what she knows as right after his death.” Goodwin explained.

“I think she was amazing,” said Daniyah Hall, a 9th grader at Central High School. “She inspired me, especially like, we both are Black. She inspired us young Black girls to do better.”

15-year-old Marion Wardlaw, a 9th grader who was also in the class, agreed. “Really nice, actually. I’ve never met a judge before,” Wardlaw said.

Goodwin was one of dozens of local celebrates invited to read to Central High School students as part of the African American Read-in. It was created by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English .

Librarian Adrian Layne spearheaded the event at Central.

“If I had had a program like this where I knew that there were people writing books with people who looked like me, I think it would’ve changed the way I approached my English classes.” Layne explained. “I did end up becoming an English major, and I discovered Toni Morrison and Alice Walker and all the greats once I got to college. But, there was a long period of time where I never saw books with characters who looked like me.”

The program was created more than 30 years ago to promote and expose Black authors to students.

Layne explained, “It is important to focus on Black authors because Black people are part of our society and our history. I know people often complain ‘Why is there a Black history month? Why is there an African-American Read-In day?’ But even with all the diversity, we still see in society that there are instances where there’s still immense racism out there. One great thing about literature and reading is that it teaches people empathy.”

Ayse Darnell, a mental health therapist, was another one of the 27 people who read to students. She read a passage from “How Long ’till Black Future Month” by N.K. Jemisin. Darnell’s mother used to teach at Central High School. Darnell is half Turkish, and felt it’s important to read to students at the event.

“The ability for somebody to say ‘Hey, this person came in and read this book by this African-American author,’ who has maybe touched a glimmer of their heart and given them something to think about for what their future could be,” Darnell noted.

Layne said they’re definitely doing this again next year. She hopes they can spread the read-in event at least to other Jefferson Country Public Schools high schools.

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