April 7, 2025 Story by: Editor
A Waterloo after-school literacy program will hosted the city’s 19th African American Read-In after the city’s school district withdrew from the statewide program.In a move that has drawn statewide attention, the Waterloo Community School District withdrew from the University of Northern Iowa’s annual African American Read-In.
In response, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones has organized an alternative read-in through her 1619 Freedom School. The district cited concerns about potential violations of federal directives against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
“We can look at where we are as a society and see the danger of not learning a more accurate history of our country so that we can have a better understanding of who we are. When we talk about teaching Black history, what we’re really talking about is teaching American history,” she said last week on IPR’s Talk of Iowa. ” “Black stories are valid and worthy in-and-of themselves, and we don’t have to defend that. All people in a community are better when we learn about different cultures and we have empathy with people who have different experiences,” she said.
The district has become the only one in Iowa to pull out of the event that reaches nearly 3,500 first-graders across the state. Waterloo has the highest percentage of Black public school enrollment in Iowa, with approximately 27% of students identifying as Black. The situation highlights growing tensions between federal mandates, state laws like Iowa’s “divisive concepts” legislation, and local educational priorities, especially in diverse communities like Waterloo.
The district’s decision came after the Trump administration announced that K-12 schools had to eliminate DEI programs or risk losing federal funding. According to district spokesperson Emily Frederick, Waterloo Schools could not risk the potential loss of funding despite having participated in the event for years.
At issue was the featured book “All Because You Matter” by Tami Charles, which includes an illustration of a child standing in front of a Black Lives Matter sign on its final page. Hannah-Jones assembled a lineup of authors, including Tami Charles herself, along with award-winning writers Derrick Barnes and Jacqueline Woodson.
Waterloo Community Schools withdrew from the event in February, citing fears of losing federal funding amid diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) rollbacks. The 1619 Freedom School opted to host with the encouragement of the district.
Nikole Hannah-Jones, the school’s co-founder and Waterloo native, said keeping the read-in going is important because of the current political and social climate in the United States.
The community-wide event will feature Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, as well as other award-winning Black children’s book authors. New York Timesbestselling author Tami Charles will attend to read her book, All Because You Matter, which was selected for the original read-in and intended to be sent home with first graders before the Waterloo school district was advised that discussion of the book may not comply with the federal mandate.
Hannah-Jones said the read-in is important for everyone in Waterloo’s diverse community.
“Black stories are valid and worthy in-and-of themselves, and we don’t have to defend that. All people in a community are better when we learn about different cultures and we have empathy with people who have different experiences,” she said. “I’m disappointed the district made that decision, but I understand it because we do know that the Trump administration is pulling funds from schools and that there could be retribution.” “What I think is important is people understand we do have power. That it does feel like so much is happening to us that the times do feel very dark, but we do have power and we can find ways to resist both individually and as a community,” Hannah-Jones said.
The 1619 Freedom School had scheduled the read-in for March 15.
Source: Iowa Public Radio/ Iowa Starting Line
