This event was originally scheduled for July 28th.
Please click here to see current mask requirements.
This event is not ticketed. Seating will be available on a first come, first served basis.
This event is in partnership with the Washington Literacy Center.
Reading for Our Lives challenges the bath-book-bed mantra and the idea that reading aloud to our kids is enough to ensure school readiness. Instead, it gives parents easy, immediate, and accessible ways to nurture language and literacy development from the start. Through personal stories, historical accounts, scholarly research, and practical tips, this book presents the life-and-death urgency of literacy, investigates inequity in reading achievement, and illuminates a path to a true, transformative education for all.
Maya Payne Smart is a writer, parent educator, and literacy advocate who has served on the boards of numerous library and literacy organizations. She and her family live in Milwaukee, where she serves as affiliated faculty in educational policy and leadership in the College of Education at Marquette University. Her website, MayaSmart.com, provides tips and tools for parents to nurture, teach, and advocate for kids on the road to reading.
Payne Smart will be in conversation with Corey Minor Smith, who hails from the great state of Ohio, born in Canton, and educated at Bowling Green State University, where she received her bachelor and master’s degrees, and at the University of Toledo, where she earned her Juris Doctorate. Minor Smith’s legal career spans over 20 years and has been dedicated to public service as an Assistant Prosecutor, Judicial Attorney and Mayoral cabinet member before serving as General Counsel for the same public housing authority that provided housing for her and her family. Minor Smith made history as the first African American to be elected to a city-wide position when she received the most votes over five other candidates to serve as an at-large member of Canton City Council. Currently, Minor Smith is appointed to serve with the Biden-Harris Administration as Senior Counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In her role, she provides support to the Office of General Counsel under the direction of General Counsel Damon Smith and the leadership of Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. Corey has received numerous accolades and awards, including the NAACP - Stark County Image Award. Corey is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Bowling Green State University Alumni Board.
