Ferguson protests provide CPS students passion for reading

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An alternative school in the Back of the Yards community is using the protests after the shooting of an unarmed teen in Ferguson, Mo., to help students develop a passion for reading.

It's important to know your rights if you are ever stopped by the police. The students at Second Chance, a Chicago Public Schools alternative school, say it's especially important if you are young and a minority.

"Like the thing that happened with Mike Brown, and we were talking about how can we avoid that situation and what do we do in that situation, and like our laws, what rights we have," said senior Ishujon Clemens.

It's no wonder that news events about protests alleging police abuse in Ferguson after the shooting death of unarmed teen Mike Brown are sparking emotion and conversation.

"They're having a lot of discussions about their own experiences with the police or experiences that they've witnessed that their friends have gone through," said book group leader Faith Rice.

An organization called Literature for All of Us is providing the forum for students to be heard. The non-profit holds classes in several Chicago Public Schools that engage students around literature relevant to their lives. They are currently using a curriculum based on Ferguson. The organization also provides outlets for expression through art, drama, book group discussion and poetry.

"Instead of taking it out on people, I take it out on paper," junior Erica Golatte said. "So it's kind of like my pen is taking it out on paper instead of me taking it out on somebody else."

Karen Thompson founded the program in 1996. She says the goal is to turn young people into independent readers, which ultimately helps strengthen their academic skills.

"What we're trying to do and what I believe happens is that they really do get in touch with their best selves and with their more powerful selves and they get over some of their feelings of failure, frustration," she said. "And the schools welcome us because we bring something different."

Literature for All of Us also services schools in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. They heavily promote the idea that reading can be fun and beneficial, regardless of a student's academic abilities.

For more information, visit http://www.literatureforallofus.org/