Books & Breakfast

Books & Breakfast is an intergenerational, multi-racial and Black-affirming space for love, political education, and breaking bread together. Done For DiDi provides breakfast, leads an art project and provides a take-home book, encouraging participants to come back next month with their own story.  Books & Breakfast focuses on childhood literacy and Black Joy, aiming to support Black youth and their caregivers with free books and hot and healthy breakfast. Done For DiDi’s program is modeled after the Black Panthers’ Free Breakfast Program of the early 1970s which fed tens of thousands of children across the country at more than 40 locations.  

In the words of Harlem Renaissance poet Jean Toomer, Books & Breakfast attempts to “call them from their housers and teach them to dream,” by taking the program to the people, in their communities.  In the spirit of the Free Breakfast for School Children Program, our goal is to cultivate an environment that promotes connectivity and open dialogue surrounding social justice issues, political theory and educational development. One of the missions of Books & Breakfast is to provide informative literature in an effort to increase awareness and enhance skills needed to actively combat local issues. These skills also have an undeniable connection to our international partners in the fight for justice.  An integral component of the event is the art project led by Done For DiDi, a creative way to engage children and their caregivers in politics, and issues impacting their lives. The arts have long played a significant role in the fight for Black liberation, used as a tool for political activism and a platform for marginalized voices.