“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.” ~Malala Yousafzi

September is National Literacy Month, focusing on the importance of early literacy, highlighting how low literacy rates can create significant barriers in life, and encouraging community involvement to increase literacy for all age groups. 

According to Reading is Fundamental (RIF), early literacy leads to improved problem-solving skills, an enhanced vocabulary, and better adult outcomes. RIF has statistics showing that in the United States, reading performance has declined to historic lows, with 25 million children unable to read proficiently, 61% of children living at or below poverty live in a home with no books, and one in three kindergartners lacking basic reading skills when they start school.* 

Childhood literacy provides more than a leg up for a child’s school years. It extends throughout that child’s life. The power to read and write is more than a grade school skill. Literacy can impact every aspect of an individual’s life throughout adulthood. The pages of a book can delight young minds, spark imaginations to discover new ideas, connect and ground people, and transform lives. But beyond reading, literacy also allows you to communicate effectively, to take in new information, to listen and to speak, and to think critically. And even in an increasingly digital world, literacy remains as important as it ever was.  

Literacy also opens up the experiences of the entire world to the reader. It can be as personal as a family memory scribbled on the back of an old photograph, or as necessary as reading and understanding an employment contract, or as public as understanding the rights and freedoms outlined for every citizen in the United States Constitution. Literacy educates. Literacy explains. Literacy helps the reader see their place in the world and find their community. From firsthand accounts from indigenous, AANHPI, African American, and LGBTQ history to comprehending a street sign while driving to interpreting a news report online, literacy has a role in everyone’s day-to-day life. 

Today, the Fred T. Korematsu Institute is a national organization that educates and inspires teachers, students, and the public through Fred Korematsu’s story. At the Korematsu Institute, we believe words matter, we believe history matters, and we believe in the power of education to bring about substantive change. And that all starts with literacy. Reading skills. Writing skills. And critical thinking skills.

For National Literacy Month, you can take part by reading a book, picking up a library card, sharing a favorite book with a child, donating a book to a neighborhood library, or volunteering to help people build their literacy skills in your community. This is about all of us. 

* Read more statistics on the U.S. Literacy Crisis on the Reading is Fundamental website: LINK