Synopsis
The youngest readers can begin to understand the legacy of President Barack Obama and supporting black banks.
Worth the purchase?
As an adult who was born and raised in the city of Detroit, MI, my favorite of the two books is “Bank Black”. Banks are few and far between in the neighborhoods. However, there are plenty of check cashing locations available on nearly every corner. What I love about this book is, it not only highlights problems that are prevalent in many urban communities, but also provides solutions. I truly believe in maximizing your dollars where you live and empowering your community. I do have a question to pose. Do these banks employ people that live in the same city? Detroit is having this issue where companies are coming in but not employing people who live where they set up shop. I’ll have to do some research on that at a later date. Or drop your answer in the comments below. Tell me how your favorite black owned bank is making improvements to your community. Use some discretion if you prefer not to delve deep into certain subjects with your children.
“Obama Helped America” was a nice way of highlighting the good parts of Obama’s presidency. I have to be honest, I saw a lot of people “forget” the things he accomplished during his presidency. If you want to add an additional layer, discuss some decisions that weren’t so great during his presidency. I want my children to have the entire picture painted, not just one side. This book was not only informative for the kids, but also a nice refresher for me.
Feedback from the kids
My 3 year old saw the books sitting on the table and immediately ran to start flipping through the pages. So I think the illustrations were a hit with her. I ended up giving these books to my 9 year old as silent reads. She really loves Barack so I wasn’t surprised she had a lot to say about “Obama Saved America”. It made her jump on the computer and start to look up for herself some important moments during his Presidency.
In the story, “Bank Black”, a lot of the characters had success stories from starting businesses with the loans they secured from black banks. However, if your child is inquisitive like my 9 year old, they may ask why people can’t go in any bank they choose and get a loan. This was a prompt for us to do some research together. She already knew how hard it was for blacks to receive service from any white retailer or institution in the past, but present day, I wasn’t 100% sure of all the benefits of opening an account with a black bank. In some minority populated areas, there are no large banks willing to service the community. A lot of the black owned banks have tailored the services offered to the specific needs of the community. And finally, there are still some present day cases of loan discrimination. This book was not only informative for my daughter, but prompted me to dig a little deeper on a subject I thought I knew all about.
Use this link to purchase these books from the author’s site. Woke Publishing
Book Details
Author: Eric Hamilton
Genre: Picture Book
Book type: Fiction