September is Proclaimed Durham: City of Books Month, 2024
WHEREAS, Durham is a City that believes in the transformative power of early literacy; and
WHEREAS, the people of Durham celebrate Book Harvest’s mission of books for every child, support for every parent, and literacy for our community; and
WHEREAS, Durham’s families have harvested more than two million Book Harvest books for their babies and children since the organization’s founding in 2011; and
WHEREAS, Durham dreams of a world in which every child grows up from birth with an abundant home library, equipped with the language and literacy tools to thrive in school, work, and life; and
WHEREAS, Durham is a City committed to principles of joy, abundance, and equity in extending the civil right of literacy for all young people; and
WHEREAS, the Durham community knows that books are a catalyst for building brains during early childhood, a period of rapid and profound development, which then allows for a full and flourishing life; and
WHEREAS, the role of neighborhoods and communities is essential to creating the life-changing connection between books and readers, and to achieving literacy for all children of Durham; and
WHEREAS, Durham -- long known as the City of Medicine -- will also be known henceforth as the City of Books, the first in America.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Leonardo Williams, Mayor of the City of Durham, North Carolina do hereby proclaim September 2024 as
"DURHAM: CITY OF BOOKS MONTH"
in Durham, and hereby urge all residents to take note of this observance.
