Our Kids Read: The Black-Led Nonprofit Working To Close Literacy Gap

Our Kids Read has donated over 50,000 books to elementary school students and raised $250,000 to fund literacy initiatives nationwide.

Jahmal Lake is the founder of the Black-led nonprofit Our Kids Read. What started as a nonprofit to get more books in the hands of children, primarily kids of color, turned into a mission to close the literacy gap.

There is currently a literacy crisis happening nationwide that is disproportionately affecting students of color. A recent report from the National Assessment of Education (NAEP) revealed that not even half of fourth graders in the U.S. (33%) scored at or above a proficient level in reading. Another way to look at the numbers is that more than half of fourth-grade students read below a skilled level.

For marginalized students, these numbers are much worse. Only 17% of Black students, 11% of students with disabilities, and 10% of multilingual learners can read proficiently by fourth grade.

Lake witnessed these statistics firsthand within the first nine months of programming with his nonprofit.

“We started seeing that the kids would be excited about grabbing the book, but they couldn’t read it, so they just pushed it to the side,” Lake, who also serves as executive director of Our Kids Read, told BLACK ENTERPRISE.

Giving a child a book was not enough, prompting Lake to change the nonprofit’s mission to stimulate an interest in reading to combat the literacy gap. Now, the Black-led nonprofit is two-fold. Lake and his team are providing books through its diverse book donation program to underserved communities. The nonprofit also provides mentorship and encouragement and fosters a love of reading through its Remote Reading Buddy program.

The Impact of Black-Led Our Kids Read

Under Lake’s leadership, Our Kids Read has donated over 50,000 books to elementary school students and raised $250,000 to fund literacy initiatives nationwide. He has launched the first free diverse children’s bookstore at Eastpoint Mall in Baltimore. Lake has partnered with major companies, including Microsoft, Hallmark, Dell, Nike, and Amazon.

But if you ask Lake his most significant flex and the most important accomplishment, he says it is getting students excited to read.

“The first encouraging statistic is that the children are signing up for multiple sessions, indicating they’re excited,” says Lake. “We’re also getting reports from teachers that students who would not be the kids participating in reading sessions are now engaging.”

Another measurement for Lake is the pre-and post-surveys from participating students. Beforehand, Lake said about 20-30% of students love reading. At the end of the program, it’s closer to 80%.

Our Kids Read Plans To Incorporate Artificial Intelligence To Teach Kids

Lake brings over 20 years of software engineering expertise to his goal of combatting the literacy gap. In 1998, he launched ImagineAccess, a nonprofit based in New York City that introduced students of color to coding, graphic design, and storytelling before launching Our Kids Read in 2019. With Our Kids Read, he is honoring his late mother, Dr. Obiagele Lake, and her legacy as an educator and social justice advocate.

For Lake, artificial intelligence and technology are the most powerful tools for teaching children to read. Our Kids Read has partnered with companies to make the technology accessible because the other barrier for families is cost.

“We are shifting to providing these resources for free because our goal is access for all. We are not going to charge for any of this,” Lake said.

Literacy for Lake is not a privilege. It’s a right. The long-term consequences of low literacy are dire, leading to higher dropout rates, limited economic opportunities, and increased incarceration rates.

His organization is always looking for volunteers to read to children and accept donations to provide critical resources to underserved students.

“We can’t wait for the government or school systems. We can’t wait for parents of children struggling to read. The world is evolving. As a global community, we have to step up and take responsibility for the literacy problem.”