Nonprofit Honors Juneteenth, Distributes Books On Race Relations

BOLINGBROOK, IL — To commemorate Juneteenth and impart knowledge about racism, local charity N. Finite Hands will distribute books Friday at Mandy's Soul Food Kitchen, a Black-owned eatery in Bolingbrook.

"Books present an opportunity to have difficult conversations with children in approachable ways and also opens discussion to people that don’t face racism in their everyday lives but need to be a part of the solution," said Jackie Smith, vice president of marketing at N. Finite Hands. "As we have seen in the past weeks, there is still work that needs to be done to bring understanding around these issues and this responsibility belongs to everyone."

Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day or Freedom Day, is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. The country celebrates Fourth of July as America's Independence but everyone wasn't free, she said, and "we look forward to a new Independence Day when everyone is truly free."

She also said with the recent events and attention to the quality of life for Blacks in America, "maybe that Independence Day is coming sooner than later."

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Over 100 books — covering important topics pertaining to race relations — will be distributed for free between 3-5 p.m on Friday. Through its website, the nonprofit raised money and received book donations for a specific subset of books that focus on Black experiences in America.

"Understanding begins with education. It is impossible to explain something that you don’t know about or have experience with," Smith said. "It can be hard to empathize with something you don’t understand. It’s impossible to address issues or change behavior you don’t recognize. Books are a key resource for building and sharing this education."

She said they chose Mandy's Soul Food Kitchen as the venue because as part of the Juneteenth celebration, they also wanted to highlight a Black business in conjunction with the book drive. It will drive more traffic to the restaurant, she said, and also "allow Bolingbrook residents to know how tied they are to the community and the cause."

N. Finite Hands is a Black-led 501c3 organization that focuses on education and sustainability. It was started by a group of childhood friends who are all products of the Valley View School District. According to Smith, Nathan Randle, the founder, "had a vision of impacting the communities that raised us by pouring resources back into the community."

Previously, they donated hundreds of books to Jonas Salk Elementary School in Bolingbrook that focused on minority children’s books highlighting and uplifting minority characters.

"Coming from a community as diverse as Bolingbrook, the importance of representation in literature options cannot be overstated and is a crucial part of learning about other cultures and growing together," she said.

Their aim is to host book drives throughout the year, with the goal of distributing 10,000 books across the Chicagoland area by 2025, Smith said.

Members of N. Finite Hands chose this name for their charity because they believe that if one person spreads information and resources to multiple people and each of those people do the same, those resources can reach an entire community.

And this idea is a strong factor behind the book distribution event.

"There will be a wide variety of books from children’s books to identify and emotionally prepare for these conversations to adult books that shine light on systems in place that need to be challenged and addressed to create a more equal society," Smith said. "The full range of these conversations are necessary to truly give every American, especially African-American, an equal opportunity to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."