Bates community to hold "read-in"

In commemoration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, and in an effort to encourage literacy, more than 120 students, faculty and staff from Bates College will hold a “read-in” for youngsters in grades K-3 classrooms in Lewiston and Auburn schools on Thursday and Friday .

Volunteers will spend approximately one hour in each classroom, reading from age-appropriate books about Dr. King and African-American history and literature. One book will be contributed to each classroom visited. Titles include Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky, by Faith Ringgold, A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman, by David Adler and When I Am Old With You by Angela Johnson.

Funded by the Office of the Chaplain and the Center for Service- Learning at Bates, and sponsored by the College Store and Amandala!, an African-American association at Bates, the effort will involve both public schools as well as St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s and Holy Cross students.

“The Center for Service-Learning wishes to mark the King holiday this year by rekindling the call to service that was central to the mission of Dr. King,” said James Carignan, dean of the college and director of the Center for Service-Learning.

“This activity will be an opportunity to talk in an interactive way with children about these books, the importance of reading, and the King legacy,” Carignan said.