As a mum to three young children who visits the library, bookshops, schools and other public places, I have struggled to find a reasonable representation of books with black characters depicted in a normal positive way. This is a similar experience for a lot of people.

Inspired by the anti-racism protest, a group of us have set up a charity to promote anti-racism and black inclusivity in literature. The vision of the charity, The Open Minds Project is to drive change in this area by donating books and through advocacy. The approval for the charity is being considered by the Charities Commission but we want to begin our activities with this fundraising to donate some books to schools starting in our local area, Brighton & Hove.

We are supported by local teachers (across the formal school age) who have helped us assess the first set of books that we will be donating. In the future, we intend to enter into dialogue with local authorities, bookshops and libraries to see how we can support them and ensure this is a lasting approach.

Our aim is to source these books from local bookshops and in this way support the growth of local business and entrepreneurs.

This target of £7,000 is to help us purchase a set of books for each year group in primary and secondary schools in Brighton & Hove. Please support us by donating to this cause. If you would like to know more about The Open Minds Project, please do get in touch. We are always keen to collaborate and partner because of the power of combined efforts.

Thank you