This Black-owned barbershop is tackling childhood literacy head-on!
Antonio Brown, owner of Central Station Barbershop and Grooming in St. Petersburg, FL, is using his influence to make a difference in his community. He’s not just cutting hair— @antonio_centralstation is on a mission to boost literacy rates among Black and brown children in the area.
After spending years working in various shops, Brown opened his own nine years ago. He also launched a book club in collaboration with The Competitive Readers Coalition, aimed at getting kids excited about reading. The concept is simple yet impactful: from Monday to Saturday, kids can join the book club and receive a free haircut for every book they read—up to 24 books a year!
Brown describes the barbershop book club as a space for kids to be encouraged, supported, and empowered through reading. Since its inception, the program has welcomed over 15,000 children and distributed more than 15,000 books, Brown told the Tampa Bay Times. It’s even expanded to 10 other barbershops, with a goal of reaching 500 shops across Florida.
“Reading is so important when it comes to understanding life…understanding what happens around you…understanding the circumstances that you may be going through may be right in this book,” Brown to Tampa Bay Times. “That’s what we’re doing here with the barbershop book club. Is preparing the kids for life.”
Cover photo: Black-Owned Barbershop Gives Free Haircuts to Children Who Enroll in Book Club / Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Times