The Takeover

by Drew Tatum

Flint, MI — It’s been five years since Brandon Publishing’s staff, Flint (MI) community members, and the amazing youth & educators at Freeman Elementary shared time and space. An amazing event celebrating National Reading Month is what ultimately and annually brought all of these groups together. The BP Reading Takeover, created by company CEO Kellen Brandon, was strategically designed to bring joy to all involved—but more importantly, it’s derived from a goal toward heightening awareness around strong reading and literacy skills. “A lot of people, youth and adults alike, don’t have great experiences around reading. Therefore they don’t revisit the practice unless commanded to,” says Brandon. “For some people reading is like going to the dentist. They hate it. Not because the books aren’t great, but because their experiences with reading are not.” One of the main goals for this event is to change that mentality and encourage young people to see how fun reading can actually be—and if you’ve ever been a part of The BP Reading Takeover, you know very well that this goal is ALWAYS accomplished.

I was able to sit down with publisher Kellen Brandon to learn more about why the event is back, and also why the event went away? The last reading takeover was conducted in spring of 2018; and was deemed as “the best reading takeover yet,” by most students and volunteers. So why the sudden stop? Brandon provided very vulnerable and transparent insights into why. “I didn’t move forward because I’d lost the man who helped me bring the entire event to fruition. Mr. Grant Whitehead. Losing Grant was tough and truly made me step back from things to question if the event or myself were truly having a real impact or not,” states Brandon. The untimely death of educator and community ambassador Grant Whitehead created a void that forced Brandon into heavy reflection about life and personal purpose. Brandon became more focused on balancing his family life, and making sure that his children were actually being impacted by his presence. “I was asked to speak at Grants funeral, and I remember the enormous amount of people that were there and how obvious his impact was on the lives of others. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t spending too much time trying to impact others and not impacting the little ones I had in my own home. So I took a break.” At the end of 2019, no one foreseen the events of COVID-19 and all of its happenings. COVID made it impossible to host any type of in-person reading event for several years—so even if the idea was to reboot the Reading Takeover, there was no real bridge that made it able to do so.

So this time around, the Reading Takeover has more meaning than ever for publisher Kellen Brandon. Yes, the event is all about reading, but it’s also about paying homage to those who laid a path for us to cross. The 2023 Reading Takeover will be in honor of the late Grant Whitehead and publisher Kellen Brandon is going all out to make sure his hero is never forgotten. “Mr. Whitehead was the first male African-American educator I’d ever been in contact with. He was also my basketball coach, my ride home after practice, and my accountability partner when I wasn’t reaching my potential. There were many schools that wouldn’t return my calls to inquiries about hosting the Reading Takeover at their schools. Grant (who was principal at Bryant Elementary at the time) told me ‘Just bring it over to my school,’ He is a man that empowered me as a child and also as a man. That’s the true definition of a mentor.”

This years event will be hosted again at Freeman Elementary on March 24, 2023. The event positions 60 community volunteers for one-on-one partner reading with 3rd grade students—all in celebration of National Reading Month. After reading is complete, the fun doesn’t stop there. The events majority partner Dominos Pizza, has gone all out to provide students with an unforgettable experience with reading, pizza, prizes, dance parties, and more! Be on the lookout for your chance to register as a volunteer or make a donation to help sustain this amazing community event. — DT