6th Annual African American Read-In with Pierce County Library

• Meeting ID: 88136742476

• Passcode: 248864

• Noni Ervin is practically a Pacific Northwest native. Her parents moved to the Greater Seattle area when she was a baby, and as a young student, she found success in writing. It wasn’t until adulthood that the enjoyment of writing began, and her first publication was born. Verbatim: Living, Loving, Surviving was necessary because everyone has a story to tell, and she has committed her actions in life to speak up for those who have no voice or who cannot speak up for themselves. In fact, this passion is what led to the creation of the Kinara Park Kids® mini-series. It was an effort to create positive images of young Black/ African American children by incorporating the seven principles of Kwanzaa. We want our young people to see positive images of themselves.

• Jeffrey Lee Cheatham II's passion for storytelling was evident from his days as a student at Seattle’s John Muir Elementary School, where every written assignment he submitted was a story or a comic. From that point on, he has been a passionate and ardent supporter of all things literary, even going so far as to co-produce Seattle’s first-ever record-breaking Urban Book Expo. A single dad, Cheatham currently lives in Seattle, Washington, with his daughter, Josilyn, Future Writer and President of Cheatham Publishing, Inc. https://jeffcheatham2.com.

• Parable Bookstore is a community space selling books, plants, records, artisan products, and art in the McKinley neighborhood of Tacoma, Washington. It is a family-owned, community-owned, LGBTQ-owned, Black-owned, woman-owned business that opened in August of 2021. https://parabletacoma.com/

#AARI #PCLS