AB Kids 2021

The Augusta Baker Endowed Chair at UofSC’s School of Information Science and the South Carolina Center for Community Literacy are pleased to announce The Augusta Baker Storytelling Experience: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programming for Children of All Ages (AB Kids) beginning in the Fall of 2021. This series is part of the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair programming at the University of South Carolina.

The series is named in honor of Augusta Braxton Baker, a beloved children’s librarian and storyteller who made South Carolina her home after a 37-year career at the New York Public Library. The first African American Coordinator of Children’s Services within the NY Public Library system, she worked tirelessly throughout her career to diversify the genre of children’s literature and to make books for children and young adults more reflective of the young people who read them. Dr. Baker served as USC’s storyteller-in-residence for 14 years from 1980 to 1994.

In each kid-friendly session of the program, experts will talk about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at a level appropriate for children and their classroom teachers and caregivers. These 30-45 minute sessions will take place at 9 am on Tuesdays, and our audience will include children of all ages. Topics will include, but are not limited to anti-racism, LGBTQIA+ issues, rainbow families, gender issues, immigration and more. Zoom sessions will be live to allow for Q&A, but will be recorded to share with those who are unable to attend.