1.5 Million (2022)

• 90%
• 2022
• Gregory Hernandez

1.5 Million explores the political and economic forces that have brought about this literacy crisis in The Bronx, specifically, District 7 which is located in the south Bronx. With a lack of school libraries, classroom libraries, books within the community, bookstores, robust marketing by the NYPL in The Bronx and decades of divestment to education, a literacy crisis has come to fruition in The Bronx. Born from the stereotypes that people in The Bronx do not read and are only known for having interests in sneaker and liquor stores; it is not by coincidence that access to literature has a profound effect on the culture of reading. As of 2016, only 56% of high school graduates in The Bronx are college ready. Poverty is a major factor, with 40% of children in the South Bronx living below the poverty line. A child raised in poverty is 13 times less likely to finish high school on time, if at all.