“Breakin’ ankles on the court, makin’ A’s is my sport.” are the words written by a PTO board member, mother of two who has never spit a rhyme a day in her life. It’s not her who is “breakin’ ankles”, but it’s a line she wrote in her first published children’s book, ‘What Will A-Tal Play Today?’.
An Ellisville native and Mississippi State graduate, Mekael Black spends most of her time doing what she loves-being a wife and mother. She is approaching her fifth year on the PTO board where her children attend school.
Black never thought she would be an author of two children’s books, let alone possess the ability to write a “rap” for any occasion.
We have all had those nighttime interruptions that left us in bed wondering when sleep would find us. In Black’s case, her night of interrupted sleep led to one children’s book after another.
“The son says good morning,” Black heard as she attempted to fall asleep. In wonder, she asked herself “What? Where did that come from?”.
On a sleepless night in October 2020, those interruptions led Black to write three stories on her smartphone.
Never imagining herself to be a writer, she immediately shared the news with her family who was in disbelief at the claim until her son Asa hears one of the raps from a story.
“Mom, I know God had to have given you this because you cannot rap,” Asa said.
As Asa stated, Black credits her faith and her relationship with God as inspiration for all of her stories, giving her the “desires of her heart”: the desire to help children read and have fun while doing it.
Black’s books contain realistic characters, are culturally and ethnically diverse, age-appropriate and show realistic and practical solutions to problems.
The story of how A-Tal originated is a representation of the stories’ realism.
Asa is the poster child for sports and athletics so much so that his classmates “knighted” him the nickname “A-Tal”. “A” is for Asa and “Tal” is short for talented.
“A-Tal’s my name, ‘cause I got game,” Black writes in ‘What Will A-Tal Play Today?’.
‘What will A-Tal Play Today’, is a story about a six-year-old little boy whose real name is Asa. A-Tal loves to play and if he could, he would play all day. The story follows A-Tal through his day, as he “raps” the clue to his next adventure.
‘The Fearless Princess’ was written from the inspiration of her daughter Aixa, a Super Girl’s journey to overcoming fear. The Fearless Princess tells you how she overcame obstacles, challenges herself to try things that she never tried before and defeated fear.
“Through faith in God, words and help from family, real-life Aixa has overcome many challenges,” Black said.
We all experience anxiety and fear when we consider taking on new feats, something that Black admitted to during the process of writing the book.
“This was scary and I almost talked myself out of it,” Black said.
Through prayer, phoning a friend and Google, she was able to launch her dream of “changing the world one child and one book at a time.”
Black aspires to have an impact through her books. As she began to learn more about childhood literacy, she was startled at the “alarming statistics” among African American students, specifically boys.
In an effort to contribute to a solution, Black states that the first step is providing access to books.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted education across the country and disproportionately in Mississippi.
A statewide assessment released by the Mississippi Department of Education in 2021 showed that English Language Art proficiency scores decreased by 7%, according to Keisha Rowe of the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger.
Black understands that lack of access to books results in underdeveloped vocabulary and lack of comprehension, among other deficiencies.
Through the Reaching and Educating for Comunity Hope (RECH) Foundation, Black provides books to children who would not otherwise have access to them. She accepts new, gently used books from the community and organizations and donates them out to children.
It’s the reward of seeing children’s joy in reading that fuels Black’s passion.
“You cannot buy the smile those children have when you hand them a book,” Black said.
Both ‘What Will A-Tal Play’ and ‘The Fearless Princess’ provide necessary representation and diversity exposure.
In both books, a child can connect with the identity of the character and is in turn, motivated and inspired to read.
Children can see that other children who don’t look like them share the same ideas, thoughts and even like the same sports.
And ‘The Fearless Princess’ teaches a valuable lesson to everyone to live a little more fearless.
Black hopes her books encourage children, as well as grown-ups all over the world to enjoy the years of their youth and become fearless, confident and courageous.
Read more about Black’s books at https://www.mekaelblack.com/. You can read more about the RECH Foundation and donate at https://www.rechfoundationms.org/.
