Meet Oliver James | Influencer, Motivational Speaker, & Literacy Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Oliver James and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Oliver, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am from Pennsylvania, born and raised. My background and upbringing shaped everything about me today, from the good to the bad. The bad is that my school experience growing up traumatized me. I graduated but was functionally illiterate. The good is that from all the hard things I endured, it made me a strong person and being strong allowed me to go on this journey to learn how to read.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Back in 2020 I received a quote book from my lady for Christmas. I love motivational quotes and no one had ever bought me a book before. I was 31 and functionally illiterate. It was then that I decided to face my biggest fear and challenge and teach myself how to read. It started slowly with little to no progress at first but little by little I read those quotes.

In 2021 I decided to share my journey with the TikTok community. I started my video by saying, “What’s up?! I can’t read.” The response was overwhelming. From there I read online, was sent books, got help from my followers, and learned to love reading. Now I start my videos by saying “What’s up?! I struggle with reading but I’m on the road to fix that.”

I’ve talked about my struggles both with reading and mental health. So many people have shared their stories with me and it inspires me to keep going. I’m on a mission to share my story and so far I’ve been interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning America, the Jennifer Hudson Show, NPR, and other major outlets. I was also recently featured in People magazine. Last October, I was awarded the 2023 National Literacy Honors Award by the Barbara Bush Foundation for shedding light on being functionally illiterate. And now I travel around talking to students and educators about how important it is to learn to read.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favorite spots have become different libraries and parks. One of my favorite libraries is Huntington Beach Central Library which is right next to the Huntington Beach Central Park. You have to see this location to understand how awesome it is. If a friend was visiting I would definitely bring them there. I would probably also take them to one of our local beaches, like Newport Beach or Corona del Mar.

For food I’d probably take them to one of my many favorite vegan spots. We’d get weekend brunch at Seabirds in Costa Mesa. Then we’d head over to The Plot also in Costa Mesa for lunch or dinner one day. We’d also have to grab donuts at The Donuttery, it’s a 24 hour donut spot in Huntington Beach.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to give my shoutout to my lady, Anne. She deserves credit for helping me through some of the times when we didn’t know what was to come or if I could even overcome the challenge. She also has helped me with the everyday tasks that so many take for granted with reading: emails, paperwork, etc.

Website: www.oliverspeaks1.com

Instagram: @oliverspeaks1

Twitter: @oliverspeaks1

Youtube: @oliverspeaks1

Other: TikTok: @oliverspeaks1

Image Credits
The picture of me speaking to the group is courtesy of BuildOn, an organization that builds schools and promotes literacy.