The Stand
March is National Reading Month, thus we encourage everyone on the South Side to read more. To start, dive into our March issue when it comes out March 1 or download the pdf here.
And in celebration of National Reading Month, send us titles of your favorite books and quotes on Twitter @MySouthSide and tag them with #SSReads. My favorite book, “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri, also happens to be this year’s CNY Reads One Book choice, and my favorite quote from this novel is: “That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”
And in celebration of reading, students at the Southside Academy Charter School are competing in an electronic blackout. The idea is to encourage reading instead of spending time on electronic devices.
The school’s administrators, teachers, parents and the students will all work together to create reading-rich environments in and out of school by switching off TVs, powering down computers, putting down other electronic devices and instead opening up a good book. Parents are asked to turn off their television sets, video games and cellphones for at least one hour each evening and instead use the time to engage in book reading with the family
In this issue of The Stand, we meet Yvonne Greene, owner of Band Aid Personal Care Service; Markita Collins, a gospel singer who recently got her own satellite radio show; a drummer known as Amali who recounts the legacy of drumming on Syracuse’s South Side; and Antonio Owens, founder of Team B.S.P.M. (Building Strong Positive Minds).
