2019 Gallery
Welcome to Albion's 2019 Big Read Photo Gallery! It is our goal to share the joy from the Big Read Summer Youth Leadership Program and the entire Big Read month. The gallery is separated by events, which are categorized by date. The most recent event is listed at the top of this page. Click any small photo to make it larger, and use the arrows shown on collections to browse. Enjoy!
ALBION’S 2019 BIG READ KEYNOTE ADDRESS AND CELEBRATION!
October 28, 2019
Ibi Zoboi, award-winning novelist, author of the 2019 Big Read Title, Pride, helped us close out Albion’s fifth Big Read with a big CELEBRATION! Ms. Zoboi spoke about how important it is to imagine things that don’t exist, because that is how we are able to create a better world. She commented “to lead a discussion and to have people think in a new way is one of the best things you can do.” Thank you, Ibi Zoboi, for seeing the power in young people and thank you, Albion, for a powerful and memorable 2019 Big Read!
YOUTH-LED BOOK DISCUSSION #7
OCTOBER 22, 2019
Big Read Leaders A’tiyah, Ja’Kobe, and Niya led this discussion on change and anger. The prompts they asked us to talk about were “Think of a time when things got better in your life or a character’s life. Describe how things changed and why they were better.” and “Think of a person in your life or a character’s life who made you or the character angry when you or the character didn’t expect to. Describe what happened and why you didn’t expect it.” Thank you to the local NAACP branch for being our charismatic hosts.
YOUTH-LED BOOK DISCUSSION #6
OCTOBER 20, 2019
Aja, Amari, Amelia and Zionae are the Leaders that facilitated the discussion today! They asked us to think about change. A quote from the discussion we think is particularly powerful from a current Leader, “I think the Big Read helped me adapt to change by enabling me to make a change… I know how to talk in front of people now, I know how to express my feelings now, I told my Super Intendant the other day how I feel about something and he had to listen to me.”. Thank you to the wonderful local branch of the Association of American University Women for being our hosts.
YOUTH-LED BOOK DISCUSSION #5
OCTOBER 19, 2019
Today Aaliyah, A’tiyah, Azaria, Bebe, and Grace led a discussion about passions. We talked about what we ourselves are passionate about, what characters in the book are passionate about and what we are passionate about in the book. We want to give a warm thank you to Albion's Sister City Committee for hosting us today.
YOUTH-LED BOOK DISCUSSION #4
OCTOBER 14, 2019
Race and betrayal were the topics for Big Read Youth Leaders Makiyah, Xavion, and Ella and their discussion of Pride. The trio asked participants to consider two prompts: “Think of a time in your life/in Pride when you/a character felt uncomfortable because of your race. Describe where you were and why you didn’t feel comfortable.” and “Think of a person in your life/in Pride who betrayed you/another character. What happened afterwards?” We would like to thank the Albion District Library and Stirling Books and Brew for hosting this youth-led discussion!
youth-led book discussion #3
October 12, 2019
Big Read Leaders Tyland and Aaliyah led us in a discussion tonight with the two topics in mind, disappointment and priorities. We wondered if disappointment is ever just one way, if it can lead to both good and bad, and if priorities and disappointment are linked through expectations. A big thank you to our dynamic hosts, the Psi Kappa Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc.
Big read film: amazing grace
October 8, 2019
The mighty Aretha Franklin took us to the moon tonight in this live concert film that documents Aretha Franklin's transcendent recording of her 1972 album Amazing Grace. In it, she sings with the Southern California Community Choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles.
youth-led book discussion #2
October 6, 2019
Big Read Leaders Marshall, Ivan, and Camille led the second of seven discussions about Pride with the two main topics of judgement and travel. We explored times when we ourselves and when the characters have traveled, and unpacked what is carried with us. We talked about judging and misjudging ourselves and others and how we deal with what happens. We thank our wonderful host, Schuler Arts!
youth-led book discussion #1
October 2, 2019
Big Read Leaders Jamiyah, D’ara, Lauren, and X’Avier led the first of seven discussions about Pride tonight! Thank you to the Sisters Influencing Society for hosting!
step afrika at harrington elementary school
October 2, 2019
step afrika at washington gardner
October 1, 2019
Step Afrika is one of the top ten African-American dance companies in the United States. In an electrifying performance, they blended percussive dance styles practiced by historically African-American fraternities and sororities, African traditional dance, and influences from a variety of other dance and art forms. Albion's own 4H Creative and Expressive Arts opened the night for us!
the Kick-off parade and celebration
September 28, 2019
Thank you to everyone who came out to the historic Holland Park/West Ward to celebrate the beginning of Albion's FIFTH Big Read! The celebration started with a parade and continued all afternoon with circus performers, face painting, community art, live music, student and local organizations, and local food vendors. It was a beautiful day of celebrating with friends, families, and neighbors.
festival of the forks
September 21, 2019
ALBION'S BIG READ YOUTH LEADERSHIP Saturday meetings
September, 2019
Albion's Big Read Youth Leaders have come together for meetings this September where we have played games and fine tuned our discussion skills. These meetings ended with a fully fledged Big Read discussion on loss, completely designed and facilitated by the Big Read Youth Leaders.
ALBION'S BIG READ YOUTH LEADERSHIP CAMP
AUGUST 12 - 16, 2019
Albion's Big Read Youth Leadership Program comes to a head with our weeklong camp! We continue to eat delicious food, play rambunctious games, and learn vivaciously. We are learning how to have good discussions using our book Pride, in preparation of leading book discussions in the community during the month of October.
Day 5
Day 4
Day 3
Day 2
Day 1
Big Read youth Leadership Meeting #6
July 31, 2019
Our sixth and final Big Read Youth Leadership Meeting of 2019 was loads of fun. We ate muffins and pesto, played new and old games, and finished reading Pride! Everyone is incredibly excited for the Big Read camp to start in August.
Big Read youth Leadership Meeting #5
July 24, 2019
Today was our fifth meeting! Many of us tried goat cheese for the first time, which got mixed reviews. There was also an Oreo Face-off (shout out to A’tiyah for a hard fought victory), photo competition (congratulations to team Mongoose), and debate about which Pride character you would want to have with you in a zombie apocalypse. We thought and talked a lot about the two main characters, Zuri and Darius, and their dynamic.
Big Read youth Leadership Meeting #4
July 17, 2019
Meeting #4 started off with dance lessons from Big Read Leaders Jamiyah and A’tiyah. We continued dancing during musical chairs. In our discussion we talked about the book’s main characters, Zuri and Darius, and ended the day with a Quiz Bowl Death Match.
Big Read youth Leadership Meeting #3
July 10, 2019
Our third meeting was an absolute blast. Banana-chocolate chip muffins were introduced for the first time and were a huge hit, and the Leaders judged the College Volunteers in a dance competition (see below) to warm up for our conversation about judgement. A special shout-out goes to D’ara, Azaria, and Amari for winning a name competition.
Big Read youth Leadership Meeting #2
July 3, 2019
The Big Read Leaders and College Volunteers had the second meeting of the summer today! The theme of today was change. We talked about the change happening in Pride, the change happening in our lives, and how those things relate, or don’t. A memorable moment was when Leaders Tyland and Lauren won intense games of ninja.
Big Read youth Leadership Meeting #1
June 26, 2019
The Big Read Leaders and College Volunteers met for the first time today to begin building relationships, playing games, and talking about Pride. We focused on the importance of names and how those are a vital base for relationships. We applied that to Pride and started exploring who the characters are, and how we see ourselves in relation to them.
College Volunteer Training
June 21-22, 2019
The College Volunteers participated in an intensive training to prepare for the Big Read Youth Leadership Program, beginning on Wednesday, June 26th. One of the most memorable parts was when Big Read Ambassadors Ta’Jyanna, Olivia, and Carl led them in a book discussion- Albion style!