St. Augustine honors Martin Luther King Jr. amid COVID-19 pandemic
As a Black child growing up in North Carolina, Benjamin Chavis Jr. knew that checking out a book from the public library wasn t allowed in his community.
But, at 12 years old, inspired by a preacher who shared that all people are made in God s image, and with a thirst for knowledge and change, Chavis decided that he would do what it took to get a library card ― instead of accepting the hand-me-down, tattered books supplied to the Black annex.
Chavis approached a librarian, who attempted to stifle his efforts to check out a book and get a library card. The police were called, he was told that his parents could lose their jobs over his actions.