A first of its kind for the London community, together with the help of the London Public Library, the W.E.A.N. Community Centre officially opened the London Black Community Library.
The library, which is housed in the community centre at 717 Richmond St., has over 600 books by Black and some Indigenous authors.
Pastor Sandie Thomas, founder and CEO of the W.E.A.N. community centre, — which stands for “where we are now” — said that growing up in Scarborough Ont., she never saw herself represented in the books she read.
“So growing up and understanding we have a rich history in Canada and southwestern Ontario, the vision came that there needs to be a place to house our stories, for our young people to know where they are going,” Thomas said.
“We want to empower and develop the young minds and the minds of those that carry our wisdom of our community to know and feel, to believe that their voice matters.”
Books for the library have been collected over the last year from the community and a number of organizations.
The library has a mix of books from different genres, with a focus on children’s literature, and the majority of the books selected are written by Canadian authors who are members of the Black and Indigenous communities.
“We made a deliberate attempt to go after our history here in Canada,” said Omar Smith, board member and lead of the library’s organizing committee.
People wanting to check out books can find the whole list of available works on the W.E.A.N. website or by going into the library itself. Smith said the London Public Library will also refer people to books at the new location on Richmond Street.
“It has been a privilege for London Public Library to work with the W.E.A.N. community to lay the building blocks for this important initiative that connects Londoners with stories and experiences that reflect the Black community,” said Michael Ciccone, London Public Library’s CEO.
The host of the library’s launch event, Christina Lord, said the library is a place for people in the Black community, and the London community as a whole, to come together and access the works of BIPOC authors.
“There is a sense of representation and ownership,” Lord said.
“This is an opportunity for members of the Black community here in London and outside of London to be able to come into a space where they see themselves as authors, where they can see themselves pictured in the books, where they can read about themselves.”
Comments