PA-C
PA-C
ALAINA IENI, PA-C
Caribbean L 48 ife, Oct. 11-17, 2019 BQ
Students and their families at the recent Book Party organized by Assembly
District 31 District Leader Richard David, in conjunction, with Congressman
Gregory Meeks, Council Members Eric Ulrich, Donovan Richards, at
the Figure Studio. District Leader Richard David is sitting at extreme right.
Richard David
Book Party in Queens
brings attention
to literacy
By Tangerine Clarke
Literacy awareness in South Ozone,
Queens was highlighted at a Book Party
organized by Assembly District 31 District
Leader, Richard David, in conjunction
with Congressman Gregory Meeks,
Council Members Eric Ulrich, Donovan
Richards, and more than a dozen community
organizations and featured two
award-winning authors.
The event, attended by young adults
and their families, drew attention and
the urgency to the low literacy rates
among young people, during the session
at “The Figure Studio” in Ozone
Park, recently.
Delicia Davis, author of “Dear Diary,
I’m Not Feeling Myself,” shared her
personal struggles as a woman of color
who was criticized for her body image.
She expressed how writing this book
allowed her to overcome the ordeal.
Her conversation focused on improving
the body image, building confidence
in young women and addressing bullying
among teenagers, while reflecting
on the themes in her book.
“Improving confidence, self esteem
and discussing mental health with
young people, are extremely important
topics. This is why I truly appreciate
our District Leader, Richard David for
organizing the Book Party,” said the
author.
Imam Baksh, a two-time winner of
the prestigious Burt Prize for Caribbean
Literature, also launched his latest
book, “The Dark of the Sea.”
During his presentation, Baksh spoke
of the importance of young people seeing
themselves in books and in fantasy
novels like the ones he writes, and this
is why the Mermaid City in his book is
run by dark skinned and dark hair mermaids
who are depicted as flawed and
constantly fighting to overcome evils
within their own society rather than
perfect heroes.
“I love events like this where I can
put my writing before young people and
see them respond and start a conversation
with my stories,” said Baksh.
Young people were encouraged to
seek out books that they can fall in
love with in the fall season, since it is
the gateway to reading and improving
literacy season.
Nadira Beepart, a student at Baruch
College, art entrepreneur and mentee
of Richard David, and moderator of
the event, said, “I don’t think I read
a complete book by choice until high
school. My mom’s boss bought me the
Harry Potter series, which was popular
so I wanted to see what all the fuss was
about.” The author said that he quickly
became engrossed in the series, waking
up late at nights wanting to find out
what would happen next to Harry and
his friends.
“This opened the doorway for me to
find more books and authors to get into
and to improve my English, both written
and verbal,” said the young college
student.
David thanked the Figure Studio — a
South Ozone Park resource center that
focuses on improving health, wellness
and creating positive body images for
women in the neighborhood.
Friends of Brookville Park, one of
the co-sponsors, gave away free books
including some best sellers.
The organization recently opened a
free little library that distributes books
at Brookville Park.
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