Eight inspirational stories. Three high-school students. One historic university.
Kenya, Devon, and Charlie are the lucky few chosen by Howard University-also known as the Mecca-to participate in a competitive summer program. Not only will they be judging stories for the #BisonWrite creative writing competition, but they also have the opportunity to discover whether they see a future for themselves at Howard.
Kenya would love to be a Howard student, but her low grades and parents' preference for state schools with "more opportunities" could hinder her dream. Devon's mentor, Mr. Gray, thinks that he would be a perfect fit for Howard, but Devon isn't sure he would fit in after growing up in a rougher part of town. Charlie lives a privileged life with his wealthy father and stepmother. He wants to attend an Ivy League school, but his mom has always hoped he'd attend Howard, her alma mater.
A collection of short stories from Howard students and alumni, The Mecca Is Me is an engaging read exploring Black culture through diverse and relatable characters. Illustrations and discussion topics inspire personal reflections on featured issues. Young readers will also learn how to participate in and submit to the #BisonWrite leadership project.
About the Author: #BisonWrite is a project of Butterfly Dreamz, and this volume has been compiled by Founder and Executive Director Joy Lindsay. Lindsay earned a bachelor of business administration from Howard University and a master of public administration in nonprofit management from New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She's written the children's book When a Butterfly Chooses to Fly and a young-adult activity book called The HerStory Journal.
Partnering with the Howard University Alumni Association, Butterfly Dreamz launched #BisonWrite to honor Howard's sesquicentennial and to promote African American voices in young adult literature. Howard undergraduates, students from the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science, and Howard alumni wrote the featured stories to educate, empower, and fund future generations of community leaders.
Students whose stories were selected for the #BisonWrite project received scholarships ranging from $500 to $5,000. Proceeds from the book will be used to fund scholarships for current and future Howard University students.
