FAMU Forward October 29, 2015 Community Barbershop Implements Reading Program For Boys Grooming young men for success has taken on a new meaning at a Tallahassee barbershop. The "In and Out" Barbershop, located near the campus of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), has taken steps to ensure that school-aged boys seeking haircuts, also sharpen their reading skills as a part of their full grooming experience. The innovative program was the brainchild of Lenita Joe, a retired educator and former library media specialist, who retired three years ago after 45 years of teaching. A FAMU supporter of 48 years, Joe first became interested in the idea after hearing about barbershops in other areas that had similar programs. She then shared her idea with her cousin and barbershop owner, Zachary Clemons, who immediately agreed to house the program in his shop. Clemons said he was inspired to do what he could to help after listening to his wife stress the importance of kids being efficient in their reading skills by third grade. The program provides books and encourages boys to read them while they wait to get haircuts. In exchange, the boys and young men receive different awards as encouragement including a free haircut after reading 10 books. "Being a Black male myself, I was trying to find a way to get to them," he said. As a part of the program, a library area has been set up in the barbershop with books labeled by grade levels so that children can identify the best book for themselves. After reading 10 books, the kids can get a free haircut. According to Joe, the program's initial success and impact has caused several community members to take an interest in contributing books for the library. According to national statistics released by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in 2014, only 54 percent of African-American males graduate from high school compared to more than 75 percent of their Caucasian and Asian American peers. By contrast, Black males students in grades K-12 were nearly 2.5 times more likely to be suspended from school in 2000 as White students," and their twelfth-grade reading scores were lower than any other racial and ethnic group. Although Clemons expresses the importance of receiving a college education to the boys, he also tries to familiarize them with other options to succeed in life including areas and professions in vocational technical fields. "I'm a vo-tech advocate, but I stress to them that you have to know how to read to do anything," Clemons said. Tamara James, whose son Carlton is participating in the program, said she appreciates the effort Joe and Clemons have put into creating the program to benefit others. "It's very comforting to know that a child can go into the barbershop and pick up a book at his or her grade level," James said. "As a parent I would tell anyone in the area with a small business to try to install a system that will give the kids something to stimulate their minds." Overall, Joe believes the program will help fill a void that is well needed, with hopes that it will generate more of an interest in reading for the boys in the program and that more community members will see that they can positively impact children any and everywhere. "I think it is doing great. There was a young boy there one day with his father who was just sitting there, so I asked him if he would like me to read a book to him. In my estimation, that is just as important as a child reading a book themselves. We need to impress upon parents how important it is to read to and with their children," Joe said. For more information on how to contribute books or other services to the program, please call 850-421-6688. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.