Literacy and Community Initiative Hosts Sixth Annual Reading Celebration

On May 7, the Literacy and Community Initiative (LCI) hosted their sixth annual reading celebration at the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA). This event celebrates the end of a yearlong collaboration between Refugee Hope Partners (RHP), the Literacy and Community Initiative (LCI) and refugee youth, when members of the LCI team met with students one Saturday every month to write and create. The event was centered around the launch of a published book created by the students, Beyond Survival: The (in)visible thread of refugee stories, which features their personal writing and artwork.

LCI is a collaboration between the NC State College of Education and the Friday Institute that partners with community-based organizations to examine, support and promote the power of youth voices. It was co-founded by Crystal Chen Lee, who prior to her passing, was an associate professor of English education in the College of Education, and Friday Institute Deputy Director and Professor Jose Picart. Over the years, LCI has cultivated partnerships with four community-based organizations—Juntos NC, Bull City YouthBuild, CORRAL and Refugee Hope Partners. Since its launch in 2018, LCI has engaged over 200 high school students, conducted over 350 hours of literacy instruction and published 15 books with over 800 pieces of writing. Lee and Picart’s research shows that youth who participated in the LCI program demonstrated improved literacy skills, enhanced social-emotional well-being, and increased community leadership and self-advocacy.

This year’s program with RHP gave students the freedom to be creative and create an emotional connection with their art and writing, amplifying authentic voices of refugee and immigrant youth through creative expression.

“You don’t just draw what comes to your mind,” said Ataullah, an RHP student from Afghanistan. “You draw what you’re feeling into the art… all the colors that I put in mean, like, the emotions around the world and the blank pieces, the white pieces are like the darkness, like, not the whole world is like happy and rainbows and lollipops.”

During the reading celebration, student authors and artists shared their narratives and artwork they created in collaboration with local artist Marriott Sheldon. The authors performed a book reading, answered audience questions and participated in a book signing.

This is the third year LCI has partnered with NCMA and the second with RHP.

“This year was especially meaningful as we witnessed significant growth in students’ writing and artistic expression, with many demonstrating more confident reflection on their personal journeys and returning participants able to articulate the evolution in their creative work,” said Angela Wiseman, associate professor of literacy education in the College of Education. “The second year of our collaboration with NCMA and Refugee Hope Partners allowed us to refine our trauma-informed approaches and observe remarkable progress among returning participants, whose writing and artistic skills showed notable advancement from the previous year. This continuity not only strengthened our program implementation but also provided valuable insights into the long-term impact of our arts-based, trauma-informed methodology on student development and self-expression.”

When asked what they liked best about the event, participants emphasized the opportunity to share their published work with the wider community. Students learned how to write poems, paint and reflect on emotions, and connect with others.

“Everybody is different, and they all have different opinions and feelings,” said Wiwi, an RHP student from Burundi. “So, um, we all got to learn something about each other. Yeah, yeah, it was fun experiencing new things that we never tried, but we had a try. It was fun.”

“The reading celebration not only showcased their artistic growth but also affirmed their identities as authentic writers and artists with important stories to share,” said Wiseman. “The program led to powerful growth in both skill and self-confidence.”