“In response to the censorship happening in libraries, schools, and prisons across the country; we commit to opening a new Radical Hood Library in Chicago once we hit 20k subscribers,” reads this site.
This freedom school network, opened by rapper Noname, has provided access to education since 2019. And now, the battle for knowledge is even more urgent.
From efforts to criminally charge librarians to blocking African American school studies, anti-Blackness is hitting hard. But actions like the one Noname is leading, which provide local educational resources and ship thousands of free books to people in prisons, pack a heavy punch.
Noname Book Club partners with libraries nationwide, but their ultimate goal is to have brick-and-mortar libraries “in every Black hood across the country.” LA was first. Chicago’s next up.
Historically, Black people have always created educational opportunities in the most unlikely places, from prisons to floating steamboats. That’s because our ancestors knew knowledge is an essential tool for our liberation.
Let’s speak it into existence. Let’s use the resources and time we have to intentionally educate ourselves and each other on Black history and liberation ideology. We will win.
If you want to support the new Hood Library, you can at this link for as little as $1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/nonamebooks.