Meet People Where They Are 

After the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd in 2020, Christopher Stewart, library media specialist at Bell High School, part of the District of Columbia Public Schools, knew his students wanted to protest peacefully and was determined to help. Armed with books, water, snacks, milk (in case students were teargassed), and hand sanitizer, Stewart joined them in protests.

In addition to standing with his students, Stewart’s work regularly extends beyond the school building. He’s the founder of Street Books and Food for the Soul, a program that provides free books on the street to strengthen the community’s bond and engagement through literature. He also created book clubs that address the social and emotional needs of students, including the Father and Son Book Club, which brings young men and fathers together to discuss books and civic questions, and provides opportunities for young men to raise concerns and create solutions.

His overall mission: “I want people who are homeless, people who have homes, students, teachers, and everyone to just come and eat together and to discuss a great book and see how many similarities they have, [as] opposed to differences.”

Going forward, Stewart wants to see the face of librarianship change. Recognizing that Black men comprise less than two percent of school librarians, he wants to empower Black and brown students to pursue the field of librarianship and “tell their stories with truth-telling narratives that reflect their experiences, and the experiences of so many that carry their same beautiful and varied hues.”