April 10th at 4:30 pm, Washington Teachers’ Union and Charnice Milton Community Bookstore unveil a renovated free library, renamed the Liz Davis Free Library

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, April 6, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Monday, April 10th at 4:30 pm, Washington Teachers’ Union and Charnice Milton Community Bookstore will unveil a newly renovated little free library, renamed as the Liz Davis Free Library—located at 1239 Pennsylvania Avenue SE. With this theme of liberation and education, the Charnice Milton Community Bookstore [CMCB] and the WTU have joined forces to address the literacy crisis in this city in honor of Elizabeth “Liz” Davis' life work— Liz Davis passed on April 4, 2021 [National School Librarians Day and the assassination of MLK].

Davis's activist passion began when she attended Eastern High School. She organized a successful walkout in 1968 of 1,500 students, demanding that Black Studies become a part of their high school curriculum. In honor of this, we celebrate DCPS librarians who attend en masse to raise the need to address the literacy crisis and underscore that every home deserves a little library.

To address the illiteracy rate in Washington, DC, CMCB began renovating Little Free Libraries in Wards 7 and 8 in 2022—WTU in Ward 6 will mark the fifth location for this outreach effort. DC is higher than the national average, and EOTR is hovering near 50%! There is empirical data that establishes the direct connection between violence, crime, and illiteracy. Despite this fact, there were 0 bookstores EOTR for over 25 years, and today there are only two in Ward 8, and zero remain in Ward 7. Since 2017 CMCB, named after slain journalist Charnice Milton’s unsolved murder, has distributed thousands of free books EOTR through its home base in We Act Radio studios and Busboys and Poets Anacostia bookstore.

Liz began her union advocacy as a WTU building representative. She served in this capacity at many of the nine schools where she taught, believing she was transferred frequently because of her ongoing activism. She became well known for causing “Good Trouble,” advocating for students and teachers and promoting the need for better working environments, teaching and learning resources, and building conditions. After attending college, at what is now known as the University of the District of Columbia, Liz fell in love with the teaching profession. This sparked a 44-year commitment to students and teachers that eventually led to the presidency of the Washington Teachers’ Union in 2013. Liz incorporated social justice in her classrooms by engaging her students in solving real-world problems through thematic, integrated learning opportunities.

Free Library sponsors: We Act Radio, Social Art and Culture, Commons Impact Foundation, and Neighbor 2 Neighbor Horning Family Foundation.

Karen Baker
Social Art and Culture
+1 202-409-7757
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