Dept. of Ed. Hypes New Program to Distribute Free Books at Barbershops

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:

HARRIS-PERRY: "Eddie’s hair design has a small children's library thanks to donations from non-profits and the collaboration with the Obama administration. As an offshoot of the my brother's keeper initiative, the department of education is working with at least 20 barbershops nationwide and joining me is John king, deputy of education and a former elementary school principal that vices principals in the schools. Why barbershops?”

KING: “We know barbershops are a place where you're going to find kids, boys, girls there with their fathers and uncles and grandfathers and they may be sitting there looking for something to do, it's a great place to have a book and do summer reading. We certainly worry in the summertime that students lose academic ground and this is a way to make sure students reading everywhere.”

HARRIS-PERRY: "Talk to me about your experience as a principal and what this kind of effort tells you or what you see in this effort that is valuable.”

PINKARD: “Well, both as a principal and as a parent, it's really important we seize these opportunities when we're with our children outside of school to continue reading and learning. It's been exciting to work with the department on read where you are because it's an extension of what we're doing with dcps passing out 80,000 books that kids could take home with them because when they are at the barbershop or on a road trip or sitting at home, we want them to be engaged and exciting and enriching activities that keep their brains growing.”

HARRIS-PERRY: "So John, I'm wondering if you had a chance to actually any of this happening and sort of not only how the boys and girls, the young people in the barbershops respond but how the adults in the barbershop respond to the books.”

KING: “Gene and I were at a barbershop on Wednesday reading with students and giving out books and what was great was the kids were so excited to be read to at barbershop but so excited about the books they got and after we left, we were standing out in front of the barbershop and kids were coming in and picking up books and diving into reading and it's what I remember doing as a kid when I would go to barbershops. This is an opportunity to make sure all kids are reading and barbershops and hair salons and places where there is opportunity to make books available.”

HARRIS-PERRY: "There are earlier attempts and some of them are still existing to the use barbershops and beauty salons as a place for health decimation like breast cancer and prostate cancer, maybe you can tell us if I have viewers watching, why barbershops and beauty salons, why this place is so much more than a place of grooming.”

KING: “We had a group of barbers join us here in D.C. For a hair battle and hair battle convention and they came and met with our staff the at the department and one of the things that was striking was that barbers, hair salon owners areity and excited about this event and told us about things they do to support the community, whether it's offering free cuts to kids who get good grades in school to organizing neighborhood activities on their block and in their community. So I think these are a community institution that for a long time in the African American community played a critical role and we're honored to partner with folks.”