When it comes to Mayan culture, most people tend to think of the ancient civilization that existed in southern Mexico and Guatemala. But Mayans and their culture prevail today, even when many of them have migrated north to the United States to find a better life. On Sept. 15, at the Cesar E. Chavez Branch Library in Oakland, the Mam community will host a public event where they will introduce their culture and traditions to others.

On a recent weekday morning, librarian Annabelle Blackman stood in front of a room full of young children at the Cesar Chavez Public Library in Oakland, Calif., singing a children’s rhyme and swaying from side-to-side. Her performance was more than mere entertainment; it was part of her weekly summer storytime that is designed to promote early literacy for infants and toddlers.

An untold number of today’s youth will be able to credit an Oakland librarian for giving them a head start in life. And who’s to say that connection with reading couldn’t start this weekend? The city’s library will team up with the Oakland Museum of California, at the museum’s gardens, for the 14th annual summer reading celebration on Sunday, Aug. 5. 

The two Oakland Public Library groups that help to sustain it are seeking new members, and they specifically want a diverse group of folks. So, if you thought being part of Friends of Oakland Public Library Board or the City of Oakland Library Advisory Commission was something you wanted to do, but believed it was closed to you, as a black or Latino / black Oaklander, via racism, think again.