Books are an entryway to imagination, and for the founder of Brown Babies N’ Books, Dessa Carroll, it's important that every child should be able to see themselves in them.
Brown Babies N' Books is a Brooklyn-based, community-driven literacy nonprofit dedicated to building legacy through literacy, representation and community, led by Carroll and board member Ebony Smalls.
Programming began as a monthly meetup in response to a community need — more recognition for Black and brown authors and more diverse family programming in Brooklyn.
Dessa was a transracial adoptee raised in a predominantly white neighborhood. After moving to New York City and living in Kensington, she hoped she would find a community that would provide representation for her child. As a new mom, she would go to different mommy-and-me events and would see no families that looked like her. Thus, Brown Babies N’ Books was born.
Even in this space, Smalls recalled having a similar experience where she and her child were treated rudely at a local library where free programming was gatekept by parents.
“New York City and Brooklyn have a goldmine of authors and illustrators," said Carroll. “Finding Black and brown authors and illustrators. It was plentiful, so I realized, oh my gosh, this doesn't have to be a once-a-month thing.
Now, 30 events in, Brown Babies N’ Books are looking to take their fundraising efforts to the next level. The leadership team is shifting focus toward long-term sustainability and expanded programming beyond simple story times. Like larger, well-known nonprofits like PBS or NPR, the goal is to create a continuous fundraising system that allows them to continue doing the work they love.
“People will come up to Dessa and they'll be crying just talking about the children's book that they remember, or just how beautiful we made the space,” explained Ebony. “That feedback continued to come in, we had no choice but to listen to it, to believe it,”
The team wants to make it very clear that they aren’t expecting struggling parents to give their last. However, their target audience is those who have excess funds and can put their money towards a good cause. The team's goal is to reach $20,000 thousand dollars to continue creating sustainable programming.
They hope to expand programming from story times to maternal wellness events, retreats, and other support for new moms.
“We have laundry initiatives in the works. We have little library boxes going up, in different neighborhoods in Brooklyn, specifically ones that are book deserts and we were speaking about outdoor discovery gardens to focus on food insecurity,” explained Carroll.
