The last stop on my book donation list – my childhood library in Seattle.
Community Outreach
I wrote my book, Dig in Your Heels, with the purpose of reaching as many people as I could in hopes of educating them about what it’s like to battle breast cancer and what they can do to prevent it and detect it early. The goal with the book is to help build awareness for the disease and reduce disparities in the black community. I had decided early on that 10% of the proceeds from the sale of my book would go back into breast cancer research and outreach. Therefore, I like to sell books for more reason than one. However, I also know that not everyone will be able to afford to purchase my book so I need to make it available to those with limited resources.
I had decided early on that 10% of the proceeds from the sale of my book would go back into breast cancer research and outreach. However, I also know that not everyone will be able to afford to purchase my book so I need to make it available to those with limited resources.
Growing up the library was a big part of my life. In fact, the library in the picture above is the library I grew up going to– The Douglass-Truth Library in Seattle, WA. It’s in the heart of the Central District which was initially a predominately Jewish and Japanese area until the 1940’s when the demographics in the area changed. World War II brought a lot of African Americans to the area in search of jobs in wartime industries. That’s what brought my mom’s family to the area from Louisiana. My grandfather took a job with Boeing. In fact, my mother lived about a mile from the library. In the early 1970’s the name of the library changed from Yesler Library (named after pioneer and library patron, Henry Yesler) to Douglass-Truth Library (named after abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth). Interesting fact: At one time the Douglass-Truth Library had the largest collection of African American literature and history on the West Coast.
Check It Out
So far I’ve donated books to libraries in DeSoto (TX), Oakland (CA), Paris (France), St. Vincent and The Grenadines (West Indies) and now Seattle (WA).
When I decided to donate a book to a library in Seattle there was no question that it would be to the Douglass-Truth library because of it’s history in the city and in my life. Since I first published my memoir in October 2015, I’ve donated books to every city I’ve lived in or have roots in. So far I’ve donated books to libraries in DeSoto (TX), Oakland (CA), Paris (France), St. Vincent and The Grenadines (West Indies) and now Seattle (WA). Seattle was the last stop on the list but the most meaningful to me. When my mom saw the picture of my donation to the Douglass-Truth Library she said she got teary-eyed. That was her childhood library too. I had never thought about how long the library had been there and that she grew up going there as well. She said in all the years she studied and checked out books there she never imagined she’d have a child who would have a book on the shelf. What a happy moment!
If you’re at any of these libraries, feel free to check out Dig in Your Heels. But please don’t be like me. I probably still have a fine for not returning a book. LOL Check it out and return it. Haha! 🙂
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