Bicentennial Bookshelf program donates literature to Dallas County schools

Dallas County is one of others in the Black Belt region to receive a number of book donations as part of the “Bicentennial Bookshelf” program.

The program is the result of a partnership with the University of Alabama Center for Economic Development, the UA School of Library and Information Studies and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

All of the books provided to schools centers around Alabama history or were written by Alabama authors.

Some of the books donated were: “13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffery” by Kathryn Windham Tucker, “Can I Touch Your Hair?” by Irene Latham and “Gone Crazy in Alabama” by Rita Williams-Garcia and other titles.

“UACED was excited to connect the students with resources that were inspired by the rich history of Alabama that included unexpected adventure, mystery and suspense as well as some of the author’s own childhood experiences while growing up in rural Alabama,” said Candace Johnson, who is the tourism and community development director with UACED.

A press release by the UACED stated that the rate of poverty in the Black Belt inspired them and their partners to donate the books.

“Alabama’s Black Belt, named for its dark, rich soil, includes some of the poorest counties in the nation,” the release said. “Along with high rates of poverty, declining populations and high unemployment, access to educational resources is a major concern for the future of K-12 students in the region, which include Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter and Wilcox Counties.”