Across the U.S., more and more books are being banned in schools. The Kadie Project, founded in 2019 by Ky Newsome and Kate Shanks, aims to collect anti-oppressive resources for classrooms, creating spaces that are safe and uplifting for preschool through middle school students.

Anti-oppressive is the preferred term for these resources, as it implies actively challenging systems of oppression on an ongoing basis and getting to the root of the issue.

According to a recent report from PEN America, between July 1 and March 31, alone, there have been 1,586 book bans in 26 states. These bans encompass 2,899 schools and more than 2 million students. Among these titles, 41% included central characters who were people of color, and 22% directly address race and racism issues.

Shanks, co-founder of the Kadie Project and current junior in Education, said the Kadie Project is in direct contradiction with the bans.

“Literature can serve as a tool for dismantling normative structures of power,” she said. “We think it’s a really potent tool for doing that.” 

The recent partnership between The Literary — a local bookshop, bar and café — and the Kadie Project provides resources for the project’s goal of gathering anti-oppressive resources for elementary school classrooms.

Shanks explained that the Kadie Project was formed in honor of Newsome’s daughter, Kadence, or Kadie. As a preschooler, Kadie experienced blatant racism from a peer, which inspired Newsome to create the project.

“Ky is the kind of person who, when something goes wrong, she is immediately looking for how to uplift others and use that experience and leverage it for change and positive community building,” Shanks said. “Ky recognized that she had the potential and ties and know-how to take that and do something that would benefit our community and ideally, support other parents in the community from having to go through the same situation she did.”

The partnership between The Literary and the Kadie Project, formed in early March, created a space where books can be purchased and then collected to be brought to classrooms. Though the project used to depend on Amazon for building book wishlists and acquiring materials, the partnership has provided a space more closely aligned to the project’s values.

The Literary — a local, women-owned bookstore — created an online wishlist where books can be selected and sent to the physical shop, where they are then picked up and brought to classrooms.

Shanks said the project has loved working closely with The Literary so far and hopes to continue in the future.

She said working with The Literary has involved “building wishlists and personalizing them for each teacher, which has been so helpful. A lot of supporters are eager to shop local.”

The project has historically functioned by doing seasonal drives each spring that span only a few months, but it hopes to move away from that and work year-round. The Kadie Project has been in action for four years, but only six classrooms have been completed in that time frame.

While literature and classroom materials are powerful tools for meeting that goal, there are other areas that the project would like to dip into for making a greater impact. Shanks explained that there needs to be policy and curricular changes, as well as changes made to teacher education.

“Our teaching force is like, 80% white women in the United States, and that needs to change … that’s an area the Kadie Project really wants to expand into,” Shanks said. “Less tangible but in a lot of ways more impactful changes. The project hopes to facilitate professional development programs, develop curriculums and lesson plans and look into training and workshops that align with its goals of anti-oppressive education.”

Currently, the Kadie Project is working with Susi Hensley and Brittany O’Hara, co-teachers of a bilingual classroom at Arcola Elementary School, 30 minutes south of Champaign. Books that are on the wishlist have been prechecked by Newsome and her daughter and are available in both Spanish and English. 

“We highlight and prioritize own-voices books … books should be written by people who are cultural insiders,” Shanks said.

The project has a commitment to authentic representation, as well as supporting marginalized authors. All books on the wishlist are committed to these values, Shanks said.

To support the Kadie Project, people can shop in store with The Literary and keep an eye out for other donation options soon. Donations can also be made using Venmo, Cashapp and Paypal, and they go directly to classrooms for resources to be purchased.

More information on the Kadie Project can be found on its LinkTree, including the foundation’s website and donation options.

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