The Hero's Journey: Telling the Stories of the Marginalized Heroes and Sheroes of Texas

WHO WILL BENEFIT: Alazan Arts Letters & Stories, (AALAS), a 501(c)(3) seeks to tell the great stories of Texas –greatly – by sharing the marginalized stories of Texas heroes and sheroes with the communities that need them most. Fifty percent of today’s public schoolchildren in Texas are Latino/a – and one-fourth of the nation’s schoolchildren. These children need to know how others who looked like them listened to their voice and changed the world.

AALAS targets Latino students in the public schools-- grades 3-5 for now -- though we believe all children will benefit from knowing their stories.

It has been established that children need connectivity to their own histories, and thusly, to the broader goals of schooling. Instead of treating children like they are without a history, this Book Series project helps them to see how, like the African American community, they, too, have great figures worth emulating. They are also able to draw connections to the African American experience, generally, as well as to other marginal groups like immigrants and workers involved in labor-related protests, creative endeavors, and socio-political struggles that reinforced democracy. In other words, the more Latino children know their own story, the more they become part of the global tribe. The more Latino students see themselves as heroes, the more they recognize how we ALL belong to the same world and its struggles.

WHAT WE WILL DO TO ACHIEVE RESULTS: Therefore, this request for funding is for Seed Money towards the creation of an alternative, high-quality, creative and publishing enterprise that WILL BE SUSTAINABLE WITHIN FIVE YEARS, seeking to enhance Literacy and through our great stories, CONSCIOUSNESS, or CONCIENCIA, by telling of stories that inspire others to emulate the heroes and sheroes of Texas.

The state of technology today allows the creation of books without requiring commercial publishing houses or distribution. New models for publishing are now available, and AALAS intends to use this technology to reach under-served communities. We will do this with the publication of printed and electronic materials (e-books and interactive books); cross-streaming platforms via cellphones, tablets, etc. And if we can devise games (“voting rights”), we will do that as well.

HOW THE GRANT MONEY WILL BE USED: For the Hardcover Publication of two books: 1. "The boy made of lightning" -- the story of Willie Velasquez; and "I always wanted a guitar" the story of singer Lydia Mendoza. For the E-Book publication of these two books as well; and for (electronic) Curriculum Guides for these two books as well. The books and guides will be offered for retail sale to elementary schools, libraries, and cultural centers.