Albion's Big Read is a month-long community reading initiative that aims to engage children, teens, and adults through shared reading experiences. We have two primary goals: value and empower youth and provide opportunities for diverse groups to come together and interact in meaningful ways.

in 2020, the pandemic changed our program, but Our leaders and our program continued to flourish (at a distance).

OUR 2020 TITLE: LONG WAY DOWN BY JASON REYNOLDS

When fifteen-year old Will’s brother is shot and killed, Will grabs his brother’s gun, steps on to the elevator in his building, and takes the long ride down.  Full of grief and anger, Will intends to follow the rules of the street: get revenge.  But on that elevator ride, Will experiences the impossible.  At different floors, one after the other, ghosts step onto the elevator.  They are the ghosts of people Will loves and ghosts of people he doesn’t—all touched in some way by gun violence. On that long elevator ride down, faced with the all-too-real ghosts of gun violence, Will confronts the decision he is faced with and what it means to make it. 

Like all of Reynolds’s novels, Long Way Down shows us complicated characters trying to live in a world that too often denies their complexity and beauty. Unlike his other novels, though, Long Way Down is told as a series of short, powerful poems that expose the inner thoughts of a teenage boy you are likely never to forget. 

Meet our 2020 Team

YOUTH LEADERS

For Albion’s 2020 Big Read, we invited all of our Big Read Ambassadors (leaders who have graduated out of the program) to join our current leaders for Albion’s 2020 Big Read Youth Leadership Program. These amazing young people – these dynamic, complicated, beautiful, crazy smart, generous young people – spent many hours over the summer, virtually and in-person, thinking and talking about our 2020 Big Read book, Jason Reynolds’s Long Way Down. Then, they brought their love of that book to our community in October.

We are thankful for and celebrate our 2020 Big Read Leaders:

Amari Artis*
A’tiyah Artis#
Emmylou Roberts Christensen#
Azaria Cummings*
Xavion Dean*
Téa Dubiel
Maliya Frost#
Jamiyah Funderburg#
D’ara Gamble*
Ivan Green#
Kei’Asianique Hill#
Olivia Hudson#
Makiyah Johnson*
Za’Riah Kemp#
Ella Lattimore*
Ian Lee#
Cedriana March#
Tyland Martin#
Ihaja Metz#
Ana Metz

* denotes leaders who have participated in Albion’s Big Read for more than one year
# denotes Ambassadors who returned to Albion’s Big Read in 2020

College Volunteers

Our summer training program would not have been possible without the outstanding support, leadership, and commitment from several students at Albion College. College Volunteers apply and interview for their role, and it's entirely volunteer-based. We deeply value the hard work and dedication of the following 2020 College Volunteers:

Larenz Hill#

ArShawn Parker*

Cassidy Porter#

* denotes students who returned as a College Volunteer for another year.
# denotes a College Volunteer who is also a Big Read Ambassador.

Planning Committee

Made up of college and community leaders, our planning committee works throughout the year. In 2020, these individuals chose the Big Read novel, collaborated with local partners, and furthered the progress of Albion's current and future Big Reads. We would like to thank the members of the 2020 Planning Committee for their irreplaceable support:

Elijah Armstrong
Kimberly Arndts
Jamie Bernard
Harry Bonner
Nels Christensen
Maddie Drury, Assistant Director
Mandy Dubiel
Mae Ola Dunklin

DonorS

We would like to wholeheartedly thank our generous supporters. Albion's 2020 Big Read was made possible by the support of the following amazing organizations and individuals. Click the green text of the donors below to learn more.
* denotes donors who have supported more than one Big Read

Lewis Chapel AME Church*

John and Mardie Roberts*

Paul Mielke*

Rosemary Smith Zander*

Elizabeth Roberts and Jeff Hafner

Caitlin Roberts-Donovan*

Kirsten Roberts*

Lauren Ridenour*

Union Board

NAACP

Eddie Williams*

Gwen Tabb*

Lauren Ridenour*

Vivian Davis

Partners

Our partners are local individuals, organizations, and businesses who donate time and energy to Albion’s Big Read. In 2020, they supported our program from behind the scenes by hosting read alouds, sharing (a lot of) space and resources, and much more. We joyfully thank them!

Albion’s Sister City Committee

Albion’s Association of American University Women, Albion Branch

NAACP, Albion Branch

In the News

May 2020

We love our Big Read Ambassadors that graduated from high school with the Class of 2020!