DAYLO's Guide to Youth Advocacy

Meet DAYLO

The Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization, known as DAYLO, is a student-led, mentor-advised diversity-themed book club and pro-literacy community service organization that was started at Beaufort High School in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 2021 by then high school junior, Holland Perryman. The club expanded its mission in 2023 to include anti-censorship advocacy after 97 books were challenged and removed from Beaufort County public school libraries. The club has also expanded in membership to currently include seven high school chapters and one college chapter in South Carolina, with more chapters starting soon. 

In the school setting, DAYLO mainly functions as a book club, with students selecting, reading, and discussing 3-4 diverse books each school year. Additionally, students have the opportunity to participate in pro-literacy community activities like the following: monthly read-aloud Teddy Bear Picnics at the Port Royal Farmer’s Market; book drives for pro-literacy, pro-library, pro-librarian, pro-teacher books; and distribution of books to classrooms, school libraries, and Little Free Libraries across our community. DAYLO students also have collaborative public service opportunities with existing community engagement programs in addition to programs which they create and curate themselves. 

DAYLO students are often in the position to effectively advocate for the intellectual and academic freedom of public school students at a local, state, and national level as a result of their positive and inspiring work within their communities. This work includes speaking at school board meetings and legislative hearings, as well as participating in panel discussions and media interviews. As a model of successful student-led pro-literacy advocacy, DAYLO has been profiled regionally in front-page newspaper articles and nationally in Education Week, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Book Riot. 

DAYLO is committed to fostering empathy and understanding within our communities and to providing multiple pathways to pro-literacy, anti-censorship student advocacy. These ideals are  reflected in the diverse books students choose to read in the book club, as well as in the various ways DAYLO engages their communities.  

We welcome the chartering of new DAYLO chapters. Ask us how. 

Additional Resources

Periodically we add new examples and records of civic engagement speeches (e.g. school boards, state education agencies, state legislative bodies and committees), as well as editorials. Check back often!

MICKIE T. , South Carolina State Board of Education Meeting, 2/13/24 

DYLAN R., South Carolina State Board of Education Meeting, 2/13/24

Kate S., South Carolina State Board of Education Meeting, 2/13/24