Dr. Sabrina A. Brinson
Associate Professor, Childhood Education and Family Studies
Dr. Sabrina A. Brinson’s passion for issues in the areas of literacy and diversity serves as an embodiment of all three themes of MSU’s Public Affairs Mission: ethical leadership, cultural competence, and community engagement. As the Founder and Director of Boys Booked on Barbershops (B-BOB) and Girls Booked on Beautyshops (G-BOB) Sabrina is committed to ameliorating the national crisis of illiteracy, along with the greater issue of aliteracy (the lack of motivation to read) by making the most of naturally-occurring opportunities for youth (ages 1-18) to read in familiar community venues like barbershops, beautyshops, and other neighborhood sites.
Sabrina collaborates with program coordinators, barbers, and beauticians to obtain demographic information about their youth patrons. Then she selects culturally responsive books, along with other titles of high-quality to compose lists of recommended books for the B-BOB and G-G-BOB Reading Nooks. The programs were launched all over the United States in 2004 (e.g., California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin); and they have received national recognition via journals, websites, newspapers, radio, and television (e.g., featured on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams in the “Making a Difference in the Community Segment”). Boys Booked on Barbershops and Girls Booked on Beautyshops have national headquarters here in Springfield, and to bring the programs to more communities Sabrina establishes partnerships with professional organizations (21 to date).
Aside from her work with B-BOB and G-BOB, Sabrina is involved in numerous organizations dedicated to promoting literacy and diversity in our community. For all her passion and hard work, we recognize Dr. Sabrina Brinson in the September 2012 Public Affairs Spotlight.