On Episode 2 of Scribe, host Jordon Chatmon sits down with Dr. Grace Carol, known to many in Oakland as "Mama Grace." She is a longtime researcher, family friend, and the creator of Akira's Book Club, a 12-book children's series built to help young readers, especially Black boys and girls, see themselves on the page.
Mama Grace's belief in reading started at home. Her immigrant mother bought a set of encyclopedias she could not read herself, because she knew that if her children could read, they could learn anything on their own. That conviction runs through every Akira book: high expectations (A is for Armadillo's Artsy Antics, not Apple), characters who look like the children reading them, and lessons in character, healthy living, and self-love.
The conversation also digs into the Jagna Early Literacy Program, which places young Black men as mentors in TK and kindergarten classrooms. Mama Grace shares why early reading by third grade is so critical, what a trusted role model can do that a workbook cannot, and how the Jagnas have helped keep Black boys in the classroom instead of out on suspension.
She is candid about funding challenges, her concerns about screens and AI for young children, and her hope for the next generation: that every child knows there is genius in them.