Read Freely Alabama has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation to further civic engagement in advocating for Alabama’s public libraries.
The grant will allow Read Freely Alabama to host eight events—six in-person and two online—focusing on civic engagement and racial justice in the fight against censorship. These events will be designed to empower local communities to become more involved in challenging book bans and restrictive legislation across Alabama’s public libraries.
“Read Freely Alabama is honored to have been chosen to receive this $40,000 grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation to further our mission. We believe Alabama’s public libraries must remain equitable public spaces,” Read Freely leadership said in a statement. “These funds will allow us to expand our reach into rural communities of Alabama who have historically been most impacted by racial injustice, and where essential, small community libraries are most vulnerable to coercive threats to funding if they choose not to censor library materials. We hope to engage and partner with these communities as well as provide resources to empower them to become more civically engaged in the fight for their local libraries and beyond. We look forward to partnering with other Alabama-based organizations as well as our sponsor, the EveryLibrary Institute, an organization monitoring and taking action against government overreach in school, college, and public libraries.”
Read Freely Alabama is a grassroots nonprofit that has grown to be the primary organization fighting against the removal of LGBTQ books from the children and teen sections of libraries across the state, whether through local library actions or regulations at the state level.
“EveryLibrary Institute is proud to serve as the fiscal sponsor for Read Freely Alabama and to support the continued growth of their work across the state,” John Chrastka, executive director of the EveryLibrary Institute, said. “This grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation is both a recognition of Read Freely Alabama’s effectiveness and an investment in the kind of community-based, values-driven advocacy that strengthens libraries as essential civic institutions. We are especially encouraged to see resources directed toward rural and historically underserved communities, where the stakes for access, equity, and the freedom to read are often the highest. Read Freely Alabama is building the kind of durable, local leadership that this moment demands.”
The Nathan Cummings Foundation is a multigenerational family foundation rooted in the Jewish tradition of social justice. The foundation works to help create a more just, vibrant, sustainable and democratic society.
“We need to protect libraries as a public good, because they provide open, equitable access to knowledge and information,” Kristi Whitfield, chief impact and partnerships officer at the foundation, said. “Read Freely Alabama facilitates meaningful civic engagement by organizing regional chapters that protect the interests of local communities. Read Freely Alabama is doing essential work at the intersection of racial justice and civic participation, at a moment when those freedoms are under real pressure.”
