A book drive to make African-American history more accessible to the community is halfway to its goal with three weeks to go.
The Education Committee of the Montgomery County-Radford City-Floyd County Branch of the NAACP is hoping the community will support the New River Valley Black History Book Drive and reach the goal of 186 books.
“African-Americans have impacted the economy, culture, and communities of the New River Valley and southern Appalachia,” the local NAACP announced. “The purpose of the NRV Black History Book Drive is to make this local and regional history more visible by creating a collection of books and articles that will be donated to the Montgomery Museum of Art & History in Christiansburg; Glencoe Mansion, Museum and Gallery in Radford; and other local cultural centers and museums. Collections will be available for community members to use during on-site reading and research, and for high school classrooms and community groups to borrow.”
The book drive began Feb. 1.
“We are already halfway to our goal of 156 books to be bought through Amazon,” the NAACP reports. “In addition, we will be purchasing about 30 hard-to-find books from a variety of vendors. Monetary donations will support these purchases. Everyone is invited to make the local black history more accessible to the community and secondary classrooms by participating in this book drive.”
Books may be purchased at https://www.mrfnaacp.org/. Follow the links to the book drive. Books can be purchased online until April 1. Books purchased online will be delivered to the committee for local distribution.
Also, individuals, churches, or other organizations can send donations by check to “M-R-F NAACP” with a note in the Memo for the “Book Drive.” Send checks to M-R-F NAACP, P.O. Box 6044, Christiansburg, VA 24068.