Bilingual little free library comes to Cambridge
Cambridge, Md. – On Cedar Street, a little painted wooden box and some books are set to open new worlds to Spanish-speaking children in Dorchester.
On Wednesday, the Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the launch of the bilingual Shine Your Light Free Little Library.
“We’re not only giving our children an opportunity to see themselves. We’re giving them an opportunity to read about themselves, learn about others in this, and discover a world beyond what they already know,” Dorchester Campaign for Grade Level Reading Bryant Whittington said.
The Needle’s Eye Academy, a Cambridge-based non-profit focused on empowering Black and Brown youth on Maryland’s Eastern Shore through literacy and mentorship programs, donated the little free library.
According to Needle’s Eye Academy co-founder Jaelon Moaney, the little library is the first bilingual little free library in rural Maryland dedicated to the Reading Color Initiative. He also said it is the first formal collaboration between the Maryland Commission on African-American History and Culture and the Governor’s Commission on Hispanic and Latin Community Affairs. He said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, the Comptroller’s office, and Chesapeake College also supported the initiative.
“A bold commitment to the African diaspora that endures throughout Latin America globally and is represented beautifully here through Marian’s artwork,” Moaney said. “This would not be possible without the beacons of our municipal library agency branches and without the staff that stewards them.”
Whittington also said literacy programs are especially important in Dorchester County, where communities may not always have easy access to books.
“That’s why efforts like this matter so much. It may look like a small library, but think about what can come out of it. A child can walk by, see a book that catches their attention, take it home and read it,” Whittington said. “That’s how we begin building a culture of reading. One child, one family, and sometimes one book at a time.”
The bilingual free little library is named for the mural beside it, painted by Cambridge-based artist Miriam Moran. For Moran, her work and the books going into the library are meant to honor Latino culture and community.
“With everything going on in the world, I know that it can [lead] us to think that nothing good is going on. But these moments here are good, and we need to cherish it, and we need to keep on pushing through, even if it’s a small token of contribution to our community,” she said.
Moran’s own father is illiterate in both languages and, for her, the library represents a triumph and that “anything is possible.”
“He didn’t have the resources in his youth, and he didn’t know how to read or write,” Moran said. “But his passion to overcome those challenges is the reason why I am standing here today, and I’m his legacy. That exact spirit is why I created Shine Your Light.”
For some attendees, this was about boosting literacy, no matter the language
“I’m just excited about literacy. So, so happy to be here today,” 83-year-old Cambridge resident Barbara Hubbard said.
For others, the library is a way for children to learn more about their heritage, especially if they are children of immigrants who cannot visit their parents’ countries of origin.
“Pues, poco a poco, descubrir, por este tipo de experiencias, la belleza de la cultura y de los paisajes de donde venimos,” Dr. Lorelly Solano said: “Well, little by little, discover, through these kinds of experiences, the beauty of the culture and countries we come from.” Solano is the director of the Cambridge Center at Chesapeake College and is also a member of the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center (ChesMRC).
Moran and attendees said they hope the little library will inspire more readers, whether in English, Spanish, both or another language altogether.
