Social media star Mychal Threets brought his love of books and black culture to the Tarea Hall Pittman Library in South Berkeley for Library Afro Revolution Day on Saturday.
The Fairfield librarian has over 793,000 TikTok and 840,000 Instagram followers who watch videos of his joyful and memorable encounters with children and adults in libraries. His goal is clear: to bring as many people as possible to their local library.
Threets hosted the first-ever Library Afro Revolution Day at the Fairfield Civic Center library earlier this year and was thrilled when he was asked to repeat the day at the South Berkeley branch.
“Library Afro Revolution Day is about giving away books for free, bringing the community together and celebrating that we can all be seen and have a special space in books and libraries,” said Threets.
The library closed off a section of Russell Street, where there were games, snacks and plenty of books, including some donated by Valerie Thompkins, author of Girls like me And Boys like meand Reesa Shayne, who writes children’s books. Hairstylist Jenji Hooker gave students free back-to-school haircuts so they could show off their new hairstyles on the first day of school in Berkeley today. There was a fashion and dance session with San Francisco artist Jocquese Whitfield.
“Saturday was very meaningful for visitors and staff alike,” wrote library specialist Chinyere Keita, one of the event’s organizers, in an email. “Our Afro Revolution Day took place in a historically black neighborhood of Berkeley, in a library named after Tarea Hall Pittman, a civil rights activist, social worker, NAACP leader and community activist.”
To commemorate the event, the library designed a special edition library card with a drawn portrait of Threets holding a book and the phrase, “Love in the library is revolutionary.” Los Angeles-based designer Devon Blow created the artwork, which will be available at the library this fall. If you already have a card, you can exchange it for a new one.
“Our patrons, especially children, love library cards,” said Rudy Tapia, the library’s circulation manager, via email. “Some of our most memorable moments are when we help people get their first card. In addition to the special edition Mychal Threets card, we will soon be announcing other new library cards designed by local Berkeley artists.”
The library held a design competition this summer. One winner and four award-winning designs were selected for patrons to choose from.
“For a long time we only had one choice. Now they have several, which makes the moment even more special,” Tapia said.
I wear my hair down every day and I love how voluminous it is.
Lunar eclipse, 9
I love my hair and try to instill in girls a love for their own hair and where they come from. What I love about our black African hair is that it is so versatile, from afro puffs to braids, it has become a ritual for us to take care of our hair.
Delene Richburg
