 Welcome to this episode of talk of the town. I'm James Milan and joining me today is an Arlington native. Sarah Kamiya has started a new project that I think has taken, well, let's go ahead and be dramatic here and say it could take the world by storm in a certain way. It certainly has the makings of that in these early stages. Sarah, thanks for joining us. Thank you for having me. Yeah, it's a delight. It really is. So I'm actually going to just ask you to describe the project itself that I have alluded to in a suspenseful way here. But no, tell us what it is that you were up to. Okay, so basically I came home at the start of April because of COVID and quarantining. And I am a school counselor in New York City. And it was just, it was getting a lot to be in the city. And there's something about being home and having the space. So needless to say, I came home and I just found myself going on walks through the neighborhood before my day would start or when my day finished. And I would pass a decent amount of little free libraries in the neighborhood. And for those who don't know, little free libraries are these little pop up wooden bookshelves, if you may, and people can take a book or leave a book. And it's completely free. And there's many across Arlington. And so I found myself just checking out the books, seeing what books were there. And I started to notice that there was just the same couple books in these libraries. And they kind of became a place for people to just leave books that they don't want anymore, or books that just didn't really have what I was looking for when I would get excited to see or come across the library. And I thought in the wake of George Floyd's, George Floyd's death, and, you know, the Black Lives Matter movement really taking off and the protests and the racial injustice going on, I thought this would be a really great way to educate people about Black culture, African American history, and fill these libraries with books that speak to these issues, but also highlight and celebrate Black authors and Black children and people of color. And I just kind of looked at the library and I thought, I have some books that I can put in here. And maybe someone will take a book and learn a little bit about a different culture. And I didn't expect that, you know, the five books I thought I was going to be putting into these libraries turning into over 700. Yeah, I mean, we're going to talk about, you know, a lot more about exactly how that has unfolded in that way. But I think many people probably in the audience are familiar with these Little Free Libraries. Do you have a sense of, you know, what it takes to create one of those? Can anybody just decide to put one up? Do you know? Yeah, so Little Free Library is an organization that started in 2009. And basically, they make it possible where you can purchase a Little Free Library from them. So it comes May, has its door on, you just kind of have to put up the post, or you can build your own. So they kind of welcome any creativity. There's no like specific kind you have to have. But for the most part, if you have space, you can put it up. They encourage you to check with the town so that you're not like putting it in through like a pipe or anything underground. And if you were to put it at a school or like a public space, I believe you need some, you know, you have to confirm that with someone. But yeah, they're free to kind of go wherever. And it's kind of up to the owner of the library to, you know, check on it and make sure it's being stocked, you know, but it really is for the community. And it's for everyone to just kind of take from. Yeah, we have one, as I mentioned to you earlier, one just to the side of our own driveway here. And I know that there's been a proliferation of these in Arlington in the last five to 10 years, for sure, just more and more all the time. What a wonderful inspiration, I think that you had to recognize that right in people's front yards are the opportunity to get knowledge, awareness, to increase awareness, and get, you know, put things in front of people in a way that they're now used to taking things in. Yeah. It's kind of nice that there's been that you come to this project after there's been a certain amount of time that Little Free Libraries have been there. So people are aware of them, people are using them already. And then you insert within that kind of channel, you insert invaluable, I was going to say valuable, but I actually think it's invaluable content for people. I imagine you wouldn't have been aware of all of that in following your initial impulse, but take us through a little bit what happened from those first five books. What was the next stage that happened from there? Right. So it really, I thought I was just going to kind of take books that I had in my house already. And then with the money donated my parents, like I came to them with the idea, they gave me $100. And I thought this is another great way to support Black-owned businesses. So my plan was to buy books from Mahogany Books, which is a Black-owned bookstore in Washington, D.C. And I purchased like 10, 10 books about, and I was really excited about that. And then I decided, why don't I see if other people in the community would want to donate so I can put more books out there and support more Black-owned bookstores? And then in the first hour, I raised $1,000. People were sending me Venmos. And then it really just continued, and it hasn't stopped since. And so with all the money donated, I purchased books from Black-owned bookstores. So now I purchased from Mahogany in D.C., the Lit Bar in the Bronx, Semi-Colon in Chicago, Frugal Books, which is in Boston. Yeah. And do you find, like, I'm interested drawing from sources all over the country, are you finding that the literature, that the books that you're getting from those places are different books and different takes and in some way reflect kind of regional interests or cultures? Well, so like the bookstores have their highlighted books of the month or books that they're putting out there. And I noticed the Lit Bar, since that's in the Bronx, there's a lot of books about the Bronx and things that have gone on in New York City. So sometimes when I buy books from there, I kind of gear towards more books like that, or I know in Chicago, there's a lot on the history of redlining and stuff like that. So I've kind of seen more of those books just on their forefront page. But for the most part, you know, all these books carry a lot of the same books. And it's exciting though to, you know, find new ones and then just continue to add to the collection of books that I'm sending. Yeah. Talking about continuing to add to the collection, we can see split out behind you. Obviously, you know, not specially set up for this interview, I'm sure, but rather just kind of how things are. And clearly a mark of the success of this campaign and the way that it is resonated with people. I am curious, it looks to me like the books that I can see right behind you are children's books, or at least it looks that way from the kind of width of them, so to speak. Is that a primary focus of yours? How have you decided what kinds of or genres of books you're going to be putting out on these shelves? That's a good question. So, you know, I thought a lot about how growing up, I was one of the only students of color in school and that there were not books that I saw myself represented in, and not even in the sense that, you know, there's a lot of great books that teach you about your hair and natural hair, and there's books that, you know, discuss what black culture is like, and those books are so important, but there's also not books where you just read about a ballerina and she's black, or there's not books about, you know, a scientist who creates a rocket ship and he's black. And so anyways, I really take into liking children's books because I think that they're, you know, for a parent who's reading that book to their child, they're learning, or they're seeing it, and then for the child who's reading it, they're realizing that people of all colors can, and especially people of color, can accomplish these things and be seen in these ways. And I think that one of the biggest takeaways from this is that if you can't see yourself represented, then it's hard to go after those dreams and those goals. And so I don't know, I think I honestly actually started with adult books because I was like, oh, adults, if they learn, they can, you know, change their thoughts and their ways. And then in time, their children can learn. But I think that it's so important to do both and start conversations with your children and discuss things that maybe haven't been talked about before. And I found that the children's books are, you know, I've learned so much from them, and it's really fun to get them and be like, where was this when I was... Yeah, it's very interesting that you bring that up because we in fact have a public affairs series at ACMI in which we have deliberately gone to talk to and highlight the work of people of color who are working in fields that would confound, you know, standard white, I think, expectations or perhaps the expectations of young children of color around for what they can do. And so we have highlighted, in fact, ballerinas and people working in areas that just aren't associated well enough with that. So this is a superb example of the same kind of effort. That's a wonderful thing. The other thing I noticed is that at our little free library on our street, it just kind of naturally evolved. It didn't seem like it was by design that we had the upper shelf became adult books and the lower shelf became children's books. And so there is this, the little free libraries themselves, it seems, are a great source for people of all ages as it turns out. All ages. Everyone, I mean, I think what also I love about this project is a book is so tangible. You know, you can hold it in your hands, you can underline it, you can dog ear, you can bookmark pages, and then you pass it on or someone else reads it and then you or you see someone reading it at the park and you're like, I read that book. I wonder if they've gotten to this part. And I think that books just have such a great way of sending a message and creating conversations and just taking you to another place that maybe you haven't gone before. Can I ask you a question that I admit was going to come out of left field a little bit because it just occurred to me, but because it is literally impossible to escape the shadow of COVID-19 over everything going on these days, I'm wondering whether you have had any feedback at all from people concerned about little free libraries as places where people share, like you said, and pass on and things like that, tangible items without there being any, you know, there are no policies or procedures in place to, you know, safeguard those. Yeah, I actually haven't had anyone say anything. I remember at the beginning of COVID-19, I saw that like people with little, because I had followed little free libraries account on Instagram for a while, and I saw that people were leaving out Clorox Wives where they were individually wrapping books, leaving gloves, and I saw that that was being done, but since then seems like that hasn't been happening as much, and I think people, some people have been saying like I'll disinfect the books, but it hasn't been an issue as far as I know about people like going to the libraries, and maybe at one point they, some people were shutting down their libraries or using their libraries as food storages for people to come and get canned goods and stuff like that, I remember that was going on, but no one's really said much about that. When I do get a lot of boxes, I think about that because I'm so excited to unbox them, and I, you know, people at one point were waiting a while to unbox things, but I wash my hands, and yeah, I get it. Yeah, again, I didn't, I don't want to divert our conversation. No, I hope you get that. It's a good question. But I'd like to get back to something you said a little bit earlier, and that is of course, we are here, our ACMI is an Arlington based organization. You are, you know, we're born and raised in Arlington, and there's a lot of concern in the community and conversation important going on right now in the wake of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and all of the, of the rest of the lamentable or worse deaths at the hands of white police officers, et cetera, as we look at ourselves here in this community. These conversations are happening. They are very important as said, also uncomfortable for so many people in a very necessary way. I want to dig into a little bit of what you said. You were talking about how growing up in this community, you really felt like there weren't a whole lot of people older than you, your age, et cetera, that you could turn to and feel that kind of affinity with. Tell us a little bit more how that feels, or how you carry that at this point. Yeah, I think that, you know, I work, so I work in a school that is primarily students of color, and I just, I see in them so much that I didn't have, and this, you know, growing up being the only person of color you realize struggles that other people don't have to deal with. And now, you know, with my students, like, if they need their hair fixed, they come to me to fix their hair. But when I was in school, I didn't have anyone to do that, whether that was a teacher or a friend. So when I came into school, and I would either have to deal with like my bun falling out, or people staring at my braids for the next five weeks that they were in, and questioning it, or thinking it's weird, whereas at my school now that I work at it, if you come in with your hair and braids, everyone's loving it, celebrating it, they're so excited to talk about it. Whereas I was like, I don't even want to go to school if I have my hair and braids. And so I think that, you know, I had a great group of friends who I'm still very close with. We've been friends since kindergarten. It's kind of crazy how long we've known each other, and we had a lot of good conversations about things that weren't said or ways that in some ways being younger back then, there was almost this idea of, I don't see color, me and my friends I talked about, but now looking back, we fail to recognize it. And we realize that now, but when you grow up with someone for so long, you really start to know them as a person. And that's the great thing, but so many conversations weren't held and said, and I don't know, looking back, I don't think I ever had a teacher of color, so that changes how I view education and leadership. And I had great teachers, but there's just this difference. And, you know, I still feel like Arlington has a long way to go. I go on walks, and I rarely see people of color. And I don't know, I just think that there's a lot of work to be done, and it has to be intentional at some point. You have to make choices to show that people of color are valued and worthy, and that they are able to fill these roles and be in this community. So I don't know, it's interesting looking at it. You know, without putting you on the spot, but appreciating the thoughtfulness of all of your answers so far and clearly the fact that this is something that you have reflected on with others and in yourself for a long time. I'm curious, if you had an opportunity to speak directly to the decision makers here in Arlington and or a large mass of the kind of white majority here in Arlington. Are there any steps or actions, I guess, that you would say this is what needs to happen and as soon as possible? What could you share from your own, you know, reflections on this and from having grown up in this community that you feel would be particularly not just pertinent but useful to pushing things forward right now? Because I think that we all recognize there's a more receptivity to this at the moment and we need to take advantage of that. I think that a lot of it goes back to the schools and it goes back to, you know, you can see there's a difference in certain schools and the representation in those schools and students. So in lower income areas of Arlington, you notice what students are going to those schools and I mean it's been a while since I've been in elementary school. I don't know the makeup today but I know that it's not that far off and I, you know, I did a read aloud at Robin's Farm the other day for this project and with a mom who lives in Arlington and is raising a Black son and she was saying I don't know if I should send my son to Bracket because, you know, at Thompson there's just a more diverse group of people and that really struck me because I'm like I love Bracket. I went to Bracket. It's right here. She lives right here. How nice would it be for your son to walk to school and walk home and have a play with his friend and when he's older, you know, that kind of thing but then I was also thinking myself how great would it be for your son to go to school where there's another Black boy like him and, you know, the struggles of that or not feeling isolated or alone or, you know, getting to connect with others that look like you and I thought if it was up to me, what would I do nowadays and I don't know. I think there's something to be said about surrounding yourself with people that look like you and are represented and, you know, the growth that comes from that. So I don't know. I think it starts with schools and I think it starts with how the town prioritizes where money goes to and, you know, the communities that are impacted or unsupported and, you know, I was also thinking about when I was in high school like the Metco program that went on and how those students were so, you know, segregated from the school in some ways and how they were, you know, we get penalized for being late and it's like they're coming from a bus. Right. Completely unable to control their arrival time. Things out of their control and we could have done so much more and I wish I had done more and I wish that more conversations had occurred like at the high school level we can be having more conversations and we didn't. I find that that is a really the first example that you gave there of, you know, you know, does the boy go to Bracket which is a great school and convenient and close by or does he go somewhere, does he go to Thompson where he'll find more people like himself. I mean, what a great illustration of the thing that white students and white families never have to worry about counterbalancing and where families of color almost always, certainly in a community as homogenous as Arlington, those are the kinds of choices that are right at the center of lives and I think that that's a, like I said, a great illustration for, you know, people in the white majority just to try and put themselves in a position where they're having to make those kinds of decisions from the beginning of their children's education or, you know, that's that really is something. Okay, let me ask you, going back to little free diverse libraries, do you, you know, you've alluded several times, you've referenced the fact that you're a teacher and of course, like other teachers, you had to do the work that you did do remotely for this past, for these past months. Hopefully, hopefully we go back to school in September in some fashion, but one way or the other, you'll be getting back to that. What's going to happen, you know, with this project as you, you know, imagine it moving into the next months and perhaps years, I don't know. Yeah, I mean, it's hard because I'm going back to New York City, I don't live in Arlington, I don't live in Boston, so in some ways I feel like I'm abandoning my home base of this project, but I think that this project, you know, has already expanded so far through social media and through the work online. And I can send books to people online and I don't need to be in Arlington to do that. And I've actually had some really exciting conversations with Little Free Libraries, the organization, and we're in the works of creating something that would make it really possible for people to dedicate themselves to having these diverse libraries. So I feel as part of my project will carry on there, hopefully, and that, you know, my project becomes a space to continue to uplift and amplify these black voices. Every week I share a book on Monday, which I call my Black Magic Monday, and then on Wednesday, it's my Stay Woke Wednesday book. And that's a great space for someone coming and wanting to learn about a book that they may have not heard about. So I hope to use my platform as that. And I also would really like to see more of these in New York City. I think that it's a city where, you know, there's a lot of foot traffic everywhere. Oh, it might be hard to keep these stopped, but they are libraries in the city. And there's so many communities that could use these books. And I really think that that would be important. And it's another next step for me. But I just I want to hear the conversations that people have when they finish a book, I want to hear about where the book goes or if they never put it back because they love it so much and that their family needs this book. I want to hear those stories. And I want to share these stories. And I want to share stories like that mom deciding between her schools and just bringing awareness to these facts and really trying to empower others to, you know, make change. A lot of people have reached out and now have started their own branch of Little Free Diverse Library. So there's Little Free Diverse Library Canada. There's Little Free Diverse Colorado. And so it's really gone all over. And so just continuing to spread that mission and people will come to me and be like, how did you do this? And just letting them know because we can all do better when we work together. That's what we wanted to know, right? How did you do this? And, you know, I love the fact that you have a vision that would encompass trying to get these Little Free Diverse Libraries into the streets of New York, for instance, because I think that Little Free Libraries in general are kind of suburban phenomenon still. And it is, I mean, for sure now that they are also Little Free Diverse Libraries, suburbanites could use that kind of education. But there's no reason that they wouldn't be as valuable or more so in the streets of our cities, for sure. Okay, we have taken up enough of your time. I can't resist noting for our audience that I've been lucky enough. I've known Sarah since she was a very young child when she was friends with my daughter. Sarah, I couldn't be more impressed with this, both your initial inspiration and then how things have unfolded and how you have stewarded this movement up to this point. I wish you profoundly wish you the best of luck in, you know, getting back to your work, but also making building this further. The fact that it's already made a mark in Canada. West, you know, you're clearly onto something here. And it's one more step in a very large project or projects that need to happen. So best of luck with it. Thanks so much for spending some time with us today. Thank you for having me. Yeah, I really appreciate it. I have been talking to Sarah Kamiya of Arlington Mass. I'm James Milan. This is Talk of the Town. Thanks for joining us.