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At the charter school in Harlem where Darlene Okpo first worked full-time as an English teacher, students had to get through 1.5 million words by the end of the year in order to pass. Without the word count, they were required to attend summer school. Formerly a teacher of after-school art programs, entrepreneurship, and theatre, Okpo has been educating since 2009. In a city as culturally rich as New York (where Okpo has lived in all five boroughs, including the honorary sixth, New Jersey) there are stories everywhere—on plaques, statues, park maps, and in bulk at the city's many libraries and bookstores. But Okpo understands that students—and all people—need to be introduced to the right stories in order to find the pleasure of a great book.
“I had this one particular student that had an A+ in reading, but her word count was low. One day I asked her why she wasn't reading and she told me that the books that they have at the school library were dull, and that she wanted to read more books that focused on African-American characters,” Okpo recalls. An avid reader from an early age, Okpo already had some young adult books in her personal library. The next day, she brought her student Tiffany D. Jackson’s book called Monday’s Not Coming. “She would read it during class and during lunch. In a matter of three days, she completed the book and requested another book to read. She was also a popular student and my other students would see her reading, and come to me for books.” By doing this, students with low word counts caught up within weeks. “Everybody is a reader, you just have to find the right book that speaks to your soul.”
At the start of May, Okpo opened a bookstore, Adanne, in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood, which offers the same warm approach to learning that Okpo offers the students in her classrooms. It’s named after Okpo’s mother, Pauline, whose nickname is Adanne, meaning “she is her mother's daughter” in Igbo. “As I was creating the aesthetic for the store, my friends and family would visit and we would always end up talking about our current issues. We talk about education, real estate, financial literacy, and many other topics. The books I chose for the store inspired these conversations.” The store is a celebration of African-American culture, with walls adorned by album covers such as “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” and shelves stocked with “Defend Black Womanhood” t-shirts.
It’s not the first time Okpo’s work, and her sense of storytelling, has been inspired by her family. In 2009, when Okpo was 22, she and her sister Lizzie founded the brand William Okpo, named after their father, who “irons his clothes every day—even when he’s cutting the lawn, he’s fashionable.” Both parents are immigrants from Nigeria who work for the city of New York. “Fashion tells a story that we’re able to visually read—it’s that designer’s story,” Okpo notes. “When it comes to written storytelling, you’re reading the story and also looking at the identity of the author.”
Adanne will be hosting weekly and monthly workshops focused on catalyzing change. The first one, taking place on June 5th, will be a discussion of issues concerning education during the pandemic. “I feel that the government didn't do a great job in terms of taking care of our students. Now it's time to bring that to the forefront,” Okpo says.
Okpo is currently building out Adanne's website, but for now, for those who can't visit in person, she offers book recommendations to readers of varying ages and interests:
For kids and elementary school libraries:
My Feet are Laughing, by Lissette Norman
Nana Akua Goes to School, by Tricia Elam Walker
A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart, by Zetta Elliot
Look What Brown Can do, by T. Marie Harris
For teens and high school libraries:
Monday's Not Coming, by Tiffany D. Jackson
Juliet Takes a Breath, by Gabby Riveria
The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sista Souljah
Concrete Rose, by Angie Thomas
For adults re-learning history with the intention to make change:
Powernomics, by Dr. Claude Anerson
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Alex Haley and Malcolm X
The Kidnapping Club, by Jonathan Daniel Wells
An African American and LatinX History of the United States, by Paul Ortiz
