St. Paul nonprofit fighting to close achievement gap celebrates 6th anniversary with book giveaway

Through promoting literacy and diversity in literature, a St. Paul non-profit says that it's committed to closing the achievement gap. And they are doing it one book at a time.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Through promoting literacy and diversity in literature, a St. Paul nonprofit says that it's committed to closing the achievement gap. And they are doing it one book at a time.

This Saturday, the Planting People, Growing Justice Leadership Institute is celebrating six years of service and organizers will celebrate the joy of reading by giving away books.

FOX 9 caught up with University of St. Thomas law professor, Dr. Artika Tyner Wednesday afternoon. She says that she founded the organization after seeing some of the educational disparities in the metro. Although Minnesota has one of the best educational systems in the country, the racial disparities tell a different story.

According to the most recent Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment, only about a third of children of color are reading at grade level and less than 10% are proficient in science. Dr. Tyner says that she's focused on growing better futures.

"What I hope for in the future is to change the world one book at a time. To inspire young people to find not only a love of reading but a love of that potential that's inside of them, to build stronger communities, to change the world along with us. So, for me the future is bright. Because the future is about the young people I see in the class time and time again who are learning, who are exploring, who are excited to grow, that to me is the greatest legacy you can build," said Tyner.

Dr. Tyner says that the organization works with schools to get diverse books into the hands of students. I'm told that so far, they have donated more than 15,000 books and have reached more than 5,000 boys and girls.

This weekend the planting people growing justice leadership institute will hold its sixth annual community celebration. Organizers say that this is a family event that is intended to inspire leadership in today's youth. There will be a number of activities, including a book giveaway.

The event will take place Saturday afternoon at the Rondo Community Library. To further their mission, organizers will also be raising funds.

For more info on the event and non-profit, you can click here.