Your Story, Your Stage

Twelve months ago, when I came to Literacy Action as its new Executive Director, I met the staff, students, and volunteers via Zoom. I did not carry a box filled with framed family photos and a potted plant to make my new office feel like home. I also could not slip into the back of a classroom to watch Literacy Action teachers animatedly inspiring a group of adult students working toward their GED or perhaps working toward a dream of reading to a grandchild for the first time. But while the COVID-19 health crisis meant I didn’t have the first day I imagined when I accepted the by Sandeep Gill position, the stark disparities in our community that

Executive Director, it exposed – in our healthcare system, our education

Literacy Action system, our policing and our attitudes toward race — served as a constant and vivid reminder of why I took the job in the first place. For the adults we work with, a vaccine will not eradicate these disparities nor will it bridge the gap between talent and opportunity. Low literate adults are more likely to live in poverty, to be incarcerated, to be dependent on government assistance, and to have children who read well below grade level. In turn, their children become low literate adults and the intergenerational cycle of poverty persists, often despite the good intentions of parents, students and educators. Like the women in the play who are trapped in abusive relationships and tethered to small town life because they are denied an education, many modern day Atlantans are trapped in poor paying jobs and tethered to poverty because they lack basic reading and writing skills. The women in this beautifully written play ultimately get the chance to escape the shackles of illiteracy thanks to their strong wills and, of course, a dash of magic on the part of the Crow siblings. Many of our students also face multiple barriers to independence and success and need more than just motivation to transform their lives. This is where Literacy Action steps in: we offer undereducated adults tuition—free classes in adult basic education, ESL, Digital literacy and GED preparation, equipping them with a broad array of tools to reach their highest potential. In Darlin’ Cory, it takes a village — the nurturing of Mama Grace, the well-meaning deception of the Crow siblings, the bravery and ambition of Clara and Honor and the courage of Mr. Tucker to get books into the hands of the women in Blue Mountain, Georgia. In modern day Atlanta, it still takes a village. You can be part of our Literacy Action village by becoming a volunteer or donor. To learn more about our mission, our students and our events, visit www.literacyaction. org or follow us on Twitter @LAIAtlanta or Instagram @literacy_Action.