Black Boy, Black Boy Book Drive

Hippo Campus is partnering with children's author Crown Shepherd to raise funds for the independent publication of her book Black Boy, Black Boy, which will be distributed to Black youth across our hometown, Minneapolis.

We believe fully in Crown's mission and this book, and would so appreciate our friends' and listeners' donations & help spreading the word for this cause. Every $10 donated gets this book into the hands of Black boys across the greater Minneapolis area.

Thanks for being here. Please read below for more info from Crown. Anything you're able to give is sincerely appreciated!

love,

Hippo Campus

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MORE INFO ON BLACK BOY, BLACK BOY & THIS BOOK DRIVE

FROM AUTHOR CROWN SHEPHERD:

If you landed here, you care about kids.

You care about literacy.

You understand the transformative power of the right books in the right hands

You are ready to to move your "care" into action.

This is our peaceful protest: Handing out personally addressed and autographed books to children who are on the frontlines - in the freezing or scorching temps, in the rain and snow, and chanting because their lives do depend on it.   Donate $10 today and this becomes YOUR peaceful protest.  

In May of 2020, after the senseless killing of George Floyd, my team and I started a campaign that offered free books to children at the protests. The 200 children we could afford to reach showed us this is necessary work. We saw the joy wash over them. They and their parents sought us out and wrote us in deep gratitude. We also started the program again in solidarity with Daunte Wright, another Black boy taken too soon.  

We are handing out books as fast as the donations roll in. Everyday, there are kids we can't reach. We need more books. We need your help.  

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Whose idea is this?

“At a time when we still have to shout that Black Lives Matter, I want to prompt the Black boys, who I love, to envision all the possibilities before them.  I want them to picture a future of positivity and hope - one of pride in their own greatness and power.” ~ Crown Shepherd

That's me. I'm Crown Shepherd, the author of Black Boy, Black Boy. I am an author, educator, and activist who could not find a way to bring my work to life for children through the mainstream publishing industry. Though they loved my work, they would only publish it if we "white-washed" it.  We heard: "The Black child on the cover cannot be wearing glasses" and "The Black children all need to look the same and have lighter skin tone". I crowdsourced, saved, and borrowed to bring Black Boy, Black Boy to life. I am doing the same for Black Girl, Black Girl coming later this year. I keep exploring how to cover printing costs in order to reach kids in need. I am certain this campaign partnership is going to get the books in the hands of the those kids! 

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How does your donation help?

It costs me $12 to print every copy. Partnering with the Minnesota Montessori Network, I have covered $2 of every book. That means for every $10 you donate, a book goes to child.

You can help with a $10 donation.  

You can organize your friends and family to each sponsor at least one book.

You can help us get books to many children in a single or recurring donation.

If you choose a recurring donation, you will also be supporting our summer outreach to children who lose touch with books when school lets out and our partnerships with schools serving Black children in the fall.  

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What's special about this book?

Black Boy, Black Boy takes a call-and-response approach to tap into the magic of it's mantra's simple positive message: Black boys can be a doctor, judge, president...anything they want to be! Each page depicts a unique boy looking into the future, seeing his grown-up self and admiring the greatness reflected back at him.

This book is created to show Black boys and the world that their potential is infinite.  

This book is an intentional contradiction to what they see in the world around them. A world that does not see them, at best.  

This book is an intentional effort to dismantle a system of oppression that confines Black boys to images of themselves as criminals, prisoners, athletes or hip-hop artists.

This book is an intentional tool to inspire Black boys to want to read and fight the systems of education and book publishing that leaves their literacy to chance. 

Black Boy, Black Boy is meant for everyone. It is meant to shout to the world that Black boys want a future without limits. 

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Is this donation tax deductible?