Jerjuan Howard, left, and Armonio Howard, right, stand near their mini library.
Two brothers with a love of reading decided to bring the world of books to a local Detroit neighborhood. With the help of YouTube, a local hardware store and dedication, the pair were able to build a free mini library for the youngest Detroiters.
Free libraries have recently begun to pop up all over Michigan suburbs. In light of the pandemic, the mini libraries have served as another way to connect, dream and travel endlessly through the world of literature. The brothers are helping bring the concept to inner city Detroit.
Jerjuan and Armonio Howard started with wanting to do something impactful in the community that raised them. Wanting to take the same books they read as children and make them easy, free and accessible to the kids in their neighborhood, they conceived the idea of building the library.
“The free libraries are not a new thing. They’ve been around, just not in our communities. I would always think to myself ‘why aren’t there any in the hood?’ Where is the free knowledge that we so desperately need? History, information and knowledge will get our minds right as Black people to get where we need to be at,” says Jerjuan.
After taking the idea to brother and partner Armonio, the two began doing research to construct the library themselves. Building the library by hand with personal funds, the brothers’ investment in the city is more than financial.
“My brother brought the idea to me and I felt like it would be a great idea and be a way to give back to the community and spread knowledge by giving back books that impacted our lives and that we liked to read,” says Armonio. “Just to be able to give back and change another individual’s life that was around the same age when we first got into reading and trying to gain different knowledge — basically give the youth a head start.”
The mini library, located on the corner of Puritan Road and Strathmoor Street, is painted in red, black and green — the colors are an ode to Blackness. Strategically choosing its location, color and adorning quote, the pair wanted to ensure the mini library served as a neighborhood staple for the youth.
“We were very intentional about the location because it is an area we grew up in. We were intentional about the colors used; people see those colors and it means something to them. The artist we chose to paint it, the quote by Malcolm X, everything was intentional about the project,” says Jerjuan.
“I’m an author, so I guess I understood the importance of reading and books,” says Jerjuan. “I’ve read a lot of books in my life and the impact they’ve had on me counts as [the] inspiration behind this.”
To initially stock the library, the brothers used books from their own personal collections. However, once the social media call was made, readers began to donate their favorite books to the collective. Now, readers are free to drop off or take books at any time of the day.
“When we did the post on Instagram, a lot of people donated books. Bringing books up there, or sending people to take books and leave new ones. Basically, it’s a circulation of knowledge. Whatever it is, you want to keep that knowledge circulating throughout the community,” says Armonio.
The duo has no plans of stopping now. They are working on two additional mini libraries to be placed in the inner city. One will be on the city’s eastside in conjunction with a local community activist. The second library will be placed on site at D-Town Farms on the city’s west side in the Rogue Park neighborhood. The brothers are also encouraging the community to help continue the efforts in their own neighborhoods to build a massive network of inner-city readers.
“We’re going to look into doing a workshop where people from their neighborhoods can come in and help build a few and they can put them in their neighborhood and spread love that way,” says Jerjuan.
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