Jackson Heights Community Fridge to host back-to-school event
/
The Jackson Heights Community Fridge, one node in the Queens mutual aid network, is hosting a back-to-school giveaway Sunday. Photo via Jacksonheightscommunityfridge/ Instagram
By Rachel Vick
A Jackson Heights group that began by feeding neighbors in need will celebrate the start of the school year with a supply drive Sunday at 2 p.m. The event also marks the start of a partnership with the organization Amplify Library, which uplifts books by authors of color.
The mutual aid network Jackson Heights Community Fridge used donations from community members to purchase 72 backpacks, which they stuffed with necessities like notebooks and pencils. The backpacks also include art supplies like coloring pages and markers “to activate their imagination,” said co-organizer Tahia Islam.
Books by authors of color and indigenous writers will be housed in Amplify Library, next to the physical fridge, located at 80-02 Northern Boulevard. Neighbors are encouraged to donate culturally responsive books and take whatever they need.
“I didn't grow up seeing myself or someone like me in the books I read,” said co-organizer Paula-Camila Caceres. “It wasn’t until I was in college where I saw that there are books that highlight Queer, indigenous individuals, so exposing the community to those can spark conversation about what it’s like to see yourself represented.”
Even though only about 15 percent of the New York City public school population is white, more than 80 percent of books in the 3-K to 8th grade curriculum were written white authors, according to a 2020 study of 1,205 books from the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice. There were five times the number of books in the curriculum by white authors than from all the authors of color combined, the report found.
Caceres, who is pursuing a PhD in anthropology, said it can be painful “not seeing your own narrative, “ and empowering to see meaningful representation.
Volunteers are welcome, and can sign up using the form on the project's Instagram.
