September 2, 2025 • 29 mins
In this special flash episode of the Project Good Podcast, hosted by Annmarie Hilton, the focus is on the critical issue of literacy in the United States. Featuring guest Dr. Glen Toby, a globally recognized entrepreneur and founder of the Book Bank Foundation, the episode explores the alarming literacy rates in the U.S., where 21% of adults struggle with basic literacy tasks. Dr. Toby shares his personal journey from homelessness to success, emphasizing the importance of education and literacy. The conversation also delves into the role of technology, societal changes, and the impact of low literacy rates on communities. Dr. Toby discusses his foundation's mission to promote literacy and the broader implications for social justice and community empowerment.
00:00 Welcome to Project Good Podcast 00:30 Understanding Literacy in the US 01:29 Introducing Dr. Glen Toby 03:56 Dr. Toby's Journey and Insights 12:40 The Impact of Technology on Literacy 22:12 The Book Bank Foundation's Mission 28:19 Closing Remarks and Resources
Bio for Dr. Toby:
Dr. Glenn Toby is a globally recognized entrepreneur, wealth advisor, and humanitarian whose life journey exemplifies resilience, reinvention, and purpose. Once a child facing homelessness on the streets of Brooklyn, he has since become a music industry pioneer, trusted advisor to elite athletes and entertainers, and the founder of The Book Bank Foundation—a nationally respected literacy and service organization.
As CEO of Glenn Toby Enterprises (GTE), Dr. Toby leads a dynamic international holding company with investments in real estate, asset management, technology, entertainment, and athlete representation. Over his 30-year career, he has managed and advised an impressive roster of clients, including LL Cool J, Lance Reddick, NFL legends Asante Samuel and Antonio Freeman, World Champion Boxer O’Neil "Supernova" Bell, and actor Jason Weaver.
The Book Bank Foundation promotes literacy by providing books and literature to underprivileged children and adult members of our communities and provides resources for combating abuse, hunger, and homelessness. The organization led by Dr. Glenn Toby has a vision to decrease illiteracy through sound and innovative methods that promote learning, social awareness, and individual prosperity.
Dr. Toby’s work has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, and on major media platforms, yet his greatest impact remains rooted in his unwavering commitment to community, literacy, and legacy.
Currently serving as a board member for the Peter Tosh Foundation, Dr. Toby continues to champion causes that empower future generations.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Annmarie Hylton (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Project Good podcast.
I'm your host Annmarie Hilton.
Project Good is a social impact podcastinterviewing experts and advocates
about the pressing problems that weface globally and hearing how they
suggest we move forward in the future.
The Project Good Podcast is broughtto you by Project Good Work.
The goal of this podcast is toinspire people and organizations
to develop a mindset that canmove others to positive action.
(00:22):
Regarding the complex social issuesfacing people and the planet,
we have a special flash episodefeaturing the Book Bank Foundation.
As of 2025, literacy in the UnitedStates presents a complex picture
with significant disparities acrossage groups, regions and demographics.
Overall, via adult literacy rateis approximately 79% of US adults,
(00:45):
which means they possess literacyskills sufficient for tasks like
comparing and contrasting informationor making low level inferences.
Around 21% of adultsstruggle in the US with.
Basic literacy tasks.
This includes 26.5 million adults atlevel one and 8.4 million below level
one, meaning struggling with basic testson literacy scales between 2017 and 2023,
(01:12):
the percentage of adults scoring at orbelow level one increase from 19% to 28%.
While those at level three orabove, decrease from 48% to 44%,
the lowest literacy rates are inCalifornia, New York, and Florida.
Today I have the pleasure ofinterviewing Dr. Glen Toby, who is
(01:34):
a globally recognized entrepreneur,wealth advisor, and humanitarian
whose life journey exemplifiesresilience, reinvention, and purpose.
What's a child facing homelessnesson the streets of Brooklyn?
He has since become a musicindustry pioneer, trusted advisor
to elite athletes and entertainers,and the founder of the Book Bank
(01:54):
Foundation, a nationally respectedliteracy and service organization.
As CEO of Glen, Toby Enterprises, Dr.Toby leads a dynamic international
holding company with investments in realestate, asset management, technology,
entertainment, and athlete representation.
Over his 30 year career, he has managedan advice and impressive list of clients,
(02:18):
including LL Cool J. Lance Reddick, NFL,legends, Asante, Samuel Antonio, free.
Free Freeman World Champion Boxer O'NeillsU Nova Bell and actor Jason Weaver.
Let's get into the interview.
(02:43):
Low literacy levels are estimated to costthe US economy up to 2.2 trillion annually
due to loss of productivity, increasedcrime, and higher welfare dependency.
Approximately 40% of students nationwidecannot read at a basic level with
nearly 70% of low income fourthgrad falling below the threshold.
(03:05):
Over 70% of inmates readbelow a fourth grade level.
America we are in trouble.
The Book Bank Foundation promotesliteracy, providing books and literature
to underprivileged children and theadult members of communities, and
provides resources for combatingabuse, hunger, and homelessness.
The organization led by Dr.
(03:25):
Glenn Toby has a vision to decreaseilliteracy through sound and innovative
methods that promote learning, socialawareness, and individual prosperity.
Dr. Toby's work has been featuredin Forbes, the New York Times,
and on major media platforms.
Yet his greatest impact remainsrooted in his unwavering commitment
to community literacy and legacy.
(03:46):
Currently serving as a board memberfor the Peter Tops Foundation, Dr.
Toby continues to champion causesthat empower future generations.
Welcome, Dr. Toby.
Dr. Glenn Toby (03:56):
Glad to be here today.
How are you?
Annmarie Hylton (03:58):
Uh, great.
I am very excited to talk aboutthis problem that, you know, I,
I was actually shocked as I waspreparing for this interview.
I didn't realize that it was so bad.
Um, you know, I guess I was, um, you.
It's been a, a long time since, uh, youknow, I was in, uh, elementary school
(04:21):
and, um, and a, a very long time, Iguess since I first started learning my
letters and, and reading and, you know,I just thought because we had advanced.
So much, um, from a technologystandpoint in society that, um, I
thought this, uh, problem was gettingsmaller and smaller and smaller,
but, um, it's actually the opposite.
(04:43):
Um, but before we dive into thesequestions to talk about illiteracy in,
um, the US I always ask each guest,uh, a personal question to understand
a little bit about how they became theperson they are and then also their heart.
And so my question for you is what?
Experience in life made you feel like theperson you've always wanted to be in life.
Dr. Glenn Toby (05:08):
Well, thank you Anne.
I'm glad to be here today.
Uh, I appreciate thegreat work you're doing.
Um, it's, your project is goingto project hopefully a different
perspective on other people.
I think this community, these communitycommunications, whether they're done in
silos, whether they're done in the office,the home, uh, it's all about community.
I appreciate you givingus this platform today.
Annmarie Hylton (05:31):
Yes.
And so, um, so what life experiencedo you think in through, when you
look back on all of your experiencesin life have made you feel, um, like
a moment that you remember that madeyou feel that, you know, this is
who I always wanted to be in life?
Dr. Glenn Toby (05:48):
Well, you know, I experienced, um, child trauma early.
I, um, had, uh, come home withmy mom and my brother one day.
Living in New York City, Brooklyn, crownHeights, and all of our life, we had
this amazing life, you know, full of loveand everything that you could imagine.
Creativity, spirituality,discipline, and just an abundance.
(06:12):
You know, as a single motherwith my grandmother there, we
had thrived and always had accessto the greatest of everything.
Education was always at the coreof it, whether it was going to the
movies, going to museums, but thenhere's this one day we come home.
My mother loses her job andshe'd been struggling with the
administration at the time.
Uh, at her job.
She worked in, uh, government,public government in New York
(06:33):
City, and she came home and thedoor to our very house was locked.
And this is a woman.
Who had unlocked the biggest doors,doors that had virtually no keys
to every challenge we watched ourmother overcome as a leader, not
just in our house, but also in thecommunity doing wonderful things.
(06:54):
So being homeless from the age of eightthat went on from eight until seven grade.
Uh, so we had, you know, support offamily members, uh, the government
agencies, you know, government supportsystems, but that period of homelessness.
Allowed us to really focus on our studies.
We had so much downtime.
We'd go to the libraries,we would go to museums.
(07:16):
Mother would always make us take notes.
Uh, she would quiz us andmake us do extra work.
So education was the foundationof, I guess I would call the
cure to the disease of ignorance.
Um, mental illness, it causes.
Literacy causes for a lot of people.
(07:36):
Drug abuse, incarceration,economic disparity, disparity.
But you know what I wanna say islow literacy rates don't cause
crime directly is what governmentinstitutions and polls say.
But it does createbarriers to opportunity.
It increase, it increases dropout risk,opens doors to negative influences,
especially in underserved communities.
(07:58):
So the data points don't alwaysreflect that it's education.
Driven.
I mean, moreover, we've seen that peopleare talking about mental health issues
and the change of the nuclear family andmany, uh, cultural, cultural aspect of
our society where settled as culturallyimmune differently in their families.
(08:18):
Um, but oftentimes in the innercity, whether it's black or white
or Asian, poor Latino, whoever itis, the person that's experiencing
this overwhelming struggle with.
Having food and havinga stable place to live.
Uh, it, it really has increasinglybeen growing more than ever because the
(08:41):
government's not on the same page withorganizations or people that are hands on.
They're speaking a totallydifferent language.
But for me, what led me down the path toeducation, what led me down the path to
finding resources is I believe that it'sa human right, that people should have
housing access to education and safety.
Annmarie Hylton (09:01):
Wow.
You know, one of the things I was just,I was so, I was touched and it made me,
uh, kind of a little bit tear at view.
You, you had an extraordinary mom.
Uh, I would say, um, to pushthrough, I guess from, that's a,
you know, quite a, a big time periodto go through, um, homelessness.
(09:23):
Um, and for her to still, um, youknow, uh, push you guys to be the.
Best, um, children and thebest people that you can be.
Even my experiencing all ofthat is just like remarkable.
I have to just say, yeah, thank
Dr. Glenn Toby (09:41):
you.
And she thinks you in her absence too.
Thank you.
Almost.
Annmarie Hylton (09:45):
Yes.
Uh, you know, that's, that's remarkable.
And, uh, and especially to keep ittogether too because, you know, um,
uh, just, you know, as people, we knowthat when we're under stress, you're,
you're, you're not always thinking.
Right.
Um, and, and so for someone tothen, um, you know, continue to
(10:05):
push like that, that's amazing.
And so the other thing that, um, uh.
I noticed in your, um, when you were,uh, talking, um, is that you talked
about how, uh, you know, both the,the government and, um, I guess we'll
say, uh, the rest of us on the streetsare living the, the life out here.
(10:29):
Um, we're not on the same page.
And that is something actually that,um, you know, in all of these social
impact issues keeps coming up.
It seems that, um, I guessthe world that we knew.
Um, and the world that we're going to, uh,going to or, you know, who knows about the
(10:50):
future, but what it seems like we're goingto go, um, you know, what we're trying
to create with all this, uh, technology.
I, I hope it's not going to be, um, likeTerminator, although it feels like it.
Um, uh, uh, you know, that's whereit feels like we're, we're heading.
It's, they're, they'rein, I would say, conflict.
(11:15):
And then, um, the other thing is whenyou talked about how, um, you know,
families, you know, you grew up in afamily, it seems that, you know, really
they got together and, you know, ofcourse, you know, I'm, I'm talking
before we had the internet and thingslike that, so you didn't have the, you
know, the tablet distraction as a child.
(11:35):
But now I find that, um, you know.
I even have to fight it in my own family.
They have to say, putdown, put down the tablet.
We're all together, we're hereto eat, or something like that.
Um, that the human interaction isalmost gone and it, in some families, I
guess you could say it is totally gone.
(11:55):
People text each other from being upstairsto downstairs, like, oh, do you want,
do you want the glass of milk or not?
And the person doesn't even comedown, they'll just text back?
No.
Or like, not right now.
I'll do it in five minutesafter I get off of my show.
But that's where we're going, you know?
And uh, so you were, you weretalking about how things have
(12:16):
have changed like that, um, in theworld that we are, are living in.
And so then, you know.
That sets us up.
I guess that, I guess I shouldn'thave been surprised that the
literacy raise is plummeting.
I guess from what you've seen,are those, um, the, the biggest
factors is the technology or doyou, have you seen something else?
Dr. Glenn Toby (12:40):
Well, the technology is actually the very
thin thread that's keeping theyouth, younger people together.
The issue is who's ever programmingsoftware, who's ever managing
or guiding the algorithm?
They can indelibly put in bias, whetherit is critical bias, spiritual bias,
(13:02):
racial bias, economic bias, it canbe programmed into the programming.
So if someone has access to somethingmore readily and faster, they're doing
less research 'cause they're not studyingor reading in the traditional way.
They're not, you know, delineatingor extrapolating the core value of
the messaging because the readingskills or the understanding has been
(13:22):
limited because these people are goingthrough this autonomous pro process
of saying, AI brought this to me.
The Google brought it to me.
The person who issued thenarrative, they're trusted because
they're in this digital domain.
So I think, you know, as, asmuch as we have access to so
much wisdom, sometimes you can bethe smartest person in the room.
That's, that's really being stupidbecause you're getting all of this
(13:46):
data, you're getting all of thisinformation, different narratives.
Um, it's issued in different, in differentmodalities with different experiences.
Critical thinking how to break downand how to read, how to write as well.
Reading without writing, um,is, is a different experience.
Writing without readingis different experience.
If you're just going with nuance andexperience and you're not da you're not
(14:08):
checking using data or cross-checkingthings or collaborating, you know, we're,
we're walking around and just enhancingignorance actually becomes a multiplier of
of, of someone that's listening in a very.
Limited manner with their own ideas.
And people are bouncing in, they'rebouncing influence from the influencers,
commercialization, consumerism,concepts, and self-reflection.
(14:32):
So it, it can be dangerous.
Sometimes they give usmore and it's too much.
Annmarie Hylton (14:38):
Yeah.
So how do you, I guess,because you are dealing with
young people and young people.
You know, um, they are, I, Iknow every generation they say
the young people are different.
They say that and every time there'syoung people, but now I truly believe
they are different because of this,the influence of the technology.
(14:59):
And I even see it like just goingto, for instance, a restaurant.
Um.
It is sometimes if, if they happento be a server, um, it is hard to
sometimes communicate or, yeah, evenit, um, or you see even if you are,
um, you know, working with youngpeople, it's almost like, uh, there's
(15:22):
a lack of comprehension of language.
Um, or there's an intimidationyou can see like, uh, there's
an anxiety that's building up.
Um, yeah.
If they have to interact with another.
Human.
Um, so we've created these peoplewho are essentially scared of people.
I would say, if I had to, to name it.
(15:44):
They're like scared of other human beings.
Um, the interact, the, the thought of, youknow, um, um, actually talking to someone
or being with another human, uh, being.
Now leads a lot of these youngpeople to have, um, these issues.
And so now, uh, my question then for youis then, you know, since you're dealing
(16:07):
with, um, you know, um, this kind of,uh, I'll just call it anxiety issue.
Um, and when it comes to reading andimagine, uh, I always think reading
takes, um, imagination, right?
For you to want to continue to.
Um, uh, you know, read the storyor whatever you're reading.
(16:28):
Um, how do you, I guess, start dealingwith these like, issues of them not being
able to actually understand, I guess.
Humans.
I have no better way to put it right now.
Dr. Glenn Toby (16:39):
Well put, well put.
I mean, some childrendon't know what cursive is.
Some kids aren't able to physicallywrite and they're not able to take
their ideas from the framework thatdefines character, their own point
of view, or to express what they'velearned or they need to learn.
And if you take someone that'snon-communicative, doesn't have the
(16:59):
communication skills, doesn't havethe social skills to express, like
forget about when it's endearing andyou're just having a social, you know,
communicable discussion that's in hand.
I mean, how does that affect the child?
You know, what experience are they having?
So if you really look at it.
(17:20):
We're talking about what they're notlearn learning in the traditional
forms of communication and waysthat people express themselves.
But one of the other issues, theydon't have a lot of positive options.
They're facing economic pressure.
Many teens and younger people aredrawn into local gangs that offer
a sense of belonging, quick moneythrough illegal activities, um, that,
(17:45):
uh, popular opinions that may notbe valued, and then oftentimes that.
Creates a presence with, youknow, police social services.
The overlap generally is because ofa lack of academic, uh, involvement
or youth are not involved with, uh,the core communities such as church.
Synagogue, um, whatever it is, themosque, whatever the, the place
(18:09):
is where people go to worship.
Even in the house, even in thehousehold, the traditional,
we talked about this earlier.
You know, the, the traditionalnuclear family has changed and we're,
as a result, is that we're havinga nuclear explosion in culture,
uh, in community and in curation.
Annmarie Hylton (18:28):
Yes.
And one of the biggest things, um, youknow, that I think is under, well, we
know, I guess we see it in the, thenews under fire is education itself
and the schools and, um, you know,uh, parents feel that they have, uh,
lost the autonomy that they used tohave or the control over the students.
Even the, the parents are under fire.
(18:51):
Um, it's, it's, uh.
You know, I feel, you know, notto be, I don't wanna sound like
conspiracy theorists, um, but I,I feel there's something, there's
something, uh, awry or a brewing.
Um, I can't put my hands exactly onit, but it's like we're creating.
(19:16):
I guess robots.
I, I, I, I, I don't know how else tosay it because the thing is, these
robots, they can't write their name.
Right.
So, um, and why, uh, this is, you know,this is, uh, uh, problematic to me, right?
You're, you used to be able to putyour name and so then people knew
that that was you, for sure, right?
(19:36):
But now.
Majority of students,they don't even know.
They can't even read the cursive.
Right.
They can't read it, they can't write it.
Um, and so they don't have, Iguess you would say, they, they
can't say, oh, this was me.
It's like going back to the dark agesand you just like put an X and it
just like, and you're just supposedto be like, you know, moving along
(19:59):
like, you know, I'm, I'm workernumber 0 0 5 2 or something like that.
Uh.
Like I said, I don't mean to sound likea conspiracy theorist, but when I look
out from the broad perspective, um, it'slike the individuality of the, of the
human person is being slowly taken away.
(20:20):
Um, I don't know if you've seen that.
Dr. Glenn Toby (20:23):
No, no.
I mean, you're right.
It's not a theory.
I think it's, it's, it's factualand actual, I mean, look at.
Chat, GPT, look at all the ai,look at the autonomous cars.
I mean, there's no autonomy in,uh, many of the people that are
supposed to be self-governed.
So if you are outside of the body,the mind, the soul, the community, the
(20:43):
church, the school, the household, thefamily, then where, where's the directive?
I mean, where, who's leading?
Are the machines leading us?
Are they leading the machines?
And if so, are they operating off ofsubstack of software and people who
are writing code from different, uh,communities with different ideology?
(21:07):
And if you can't communicate wellenough and you're not breaking the
knowledge down, if you can't understandthe data, if you don't know how to.
Source the data.
And if you don't know how to pull fromthe data sets, how is someone gonna be
able to come to a, a proper decision?
And then when they have challenges,or when data changes, or when
the platform changes, or there'sideation in the development of how
(21:29):
people communicate and teach, howare we gonna have the raw, organic.
Power of creativity and understandingto change the world and to be adaptive
using the same systems that weretraditionally, you know, forever, right?
You, you talk to that teacher penand paper, things went really slow.
They weren't changing as much.
It took years oftentimes forbooks to be published and
(21:50):
adaptive into the school systems.
Now ideas are changed within seconds.
How does that affect us with ADHD and with so many distractions
in the digital domain.
What are we expecting these kids tohold onto, not to mention the adults.
Annmarie Hylton (22:05):
Yeah, it's, it's, um, it's a scary mess to say the least.
Um, you know, I guess, uh, where didyou, when you, let's go back to the Book
Bank Foundation, I guess, when did youstart seeing this as a serious problem?
Dr. Glenn Toby (22:29):
For me, I had looked back, you know, I had a career
in, uh, and I still am very muchinvolved in sports entertainment.
I managed to l cool J for four years, dida show in the house with Quincy Jones,
with um, Charles Fisher, Brian the tour.
And then from there I went to the NationalFootball, national Basketball Association.
We did about $300 million in contractbusiness and have such say so in the money
(22:53):
that I earned, the money that I spent.
And the money that followedme and it was education.
And I would go back to my neighborhoodon a regular basis 'cause I was not
disconnected and I'd bring back,you know, items of, um, sneakers,
clothing, tickets for concerts.
And I wanted to take it to another level.
And I wanted something more sustainable.
And I sat down one day when I hadhit the wall and I felt like I'd done
(23:16):
all I'd done in my life career wise.
I sold these companies.
I, I lived in a 12,500 square foothouse, flying, private, living the life.
But something was missing.
It was a void.
I realized that I was driven by fear.
My success was driven byme not wanting to fail.
Again, me wanting to always be on the edgeor at the precipice of what change would
(23:38):
be so that I could be able to have accessmoney, um, and be able to help others.
But I think philanthropy calledme when, uh, one of my NFL players
on York Jets was doing something.
Josh Evans and of courseDamien Robinson, and we started
giving out mildly and gently.
And it continued to grow.
Uh, 50 cent.
The rapper joined me in other localcelebrities and sports, film, television,
(24:02):
and even pioneers in, uh, not justmusic and film and tv, but political
leaders, uh, spiritual leaders.
And it became so easy for me to canonize.
It became so easy for.
To ask people to come and doa community give back and to
continue to grow and grow and grow.
Where the challenge was how do we givethem something sustainable after they
(24:23):
eat the sandwich or wear the coat orput on the shoes that we've given them?
They only get, what, two tothree, maybe four years out of it.
So I had to find something that wouldbe more permanent or sustainable,
and I thought that would be puttingtogether the Book Bank Foundation, which
stands for books, obviously education.
You have bank, which you have aspiritual bank, an emotional bank, a
(24:47):
financial bank, a me memory bank, andthat's where we hold these things.
So I thought with a good heart and agreat mind, we put it together and we're
able to touch people's souls by beingable to share and give and teach the
art of giving and the art of receiving.
Annmarie Hylton (25:08):
Now, what has been the, the most, I guess, uh,
amazing or profound, um, uh, changethat you've seen, uh, your, your
found out, your facing, uh, effect?
Dr. Glenn Toby (25:23):
Hmm.
I would say much of what I've been ableto reflect on is how a kind act tolerance.
Patience and communicationcan shift the world.
You know, you talk to one personwho talks to somebody else, who
talks to somebody else, and thesecollect this collective consciousness
that we have continues to grow.
(25:44):
It can go from one or two peopleto even this amazing podcast.
Somebody's gonna hear us somewhereand it could touch their heart to take
a look at their policy, whether it'spersonal policy, public policy, or
some of the policies that have been.
Issue to them.
Some people are open to racial bias whenthey were young or racial prejudice or
(26:05):
they, they're privileged or they havelimitations or, I felt like the more
active I remained, it wasn't just mywork, it was the information and the
awareness that touched someone elseto maybe do what I do better or more.
Annmarie Hylton (26:18):
Now, since you've touched so many, um, different types of people,
um, you know, your foundation is not, um.
Just in Atlanta?
I believe Atlanta is where it started.
Is that correct?
It, it actually started in my heart,
Dr. Glenn Toby (26:35):
but uh, it was Mississippi and Atlanta at the same
time, whereas most people thought itstarted in New York, but I was living
in New York at the time, most of themajority of the time while traveling.
But I'd say Jackson, Mississippi,and Atlanta is where it was
kind of birthed in spirit.
Um, and then the bigger work and theheavier lifting was done in New York City.
Annmarie Hylton (26:55):
Now, I guess, um, did you, I guess, pick these locations
because you knew that these were criticalspots or is it just because these are
spaces or places that you hang out in?
Dr. Glenn Toby (27:07):
Well, it was because I was, I had such influence, you
know, managing these major recordingartists and these athletes and being
able to get the city to listen to me.
Leaders of all walks becauseof sports and entertainment.
It gave me the leverage points tobe able to come with a measure that
says, Hey, I will work on a projectwith you that brings us money.
(27:30):
Um, I'll do this broker deal,whether it's negotiating a
contract or doing a joint venture.
And I would always put the charityright in my heart and it'd be
the first thing I'd talk about.
People would look at it.
Uh, some would become enamored with itand continue to stay at book Bank forever.
And some enough just to.
Make a donation or to bereflective about some of the
(27:50):
issues and how they can affect it.
Affect it, cause theirmistakes or they're hurtful.
Karma moves a little bit faster.
It seems like it's a lotfaster that there's a response
or there's an action taken.
And I think part of that is becausepeople are more aware and people
(28:11):
are more in touch with some ofthe issues we have from education.
To civil rights issues, humanity,and just the core needs of people.
Annmarie Hylton (28:19):
Thank you Dr. Toby, for your time and insight.
To learn more about Dr. Toby andthe Book Bank Foundation, go to
the book bank foundation.org.
If you have a passion for an unservedcommunity, a social justice problem,
or wanna change minds contactproject, good work@projectgood.work.
Subscribe to our mailing list at Projectgood.work/subscribe to get our episodes
(28:40):
and blog articles sent to you each month.
To our listeners, thanks fortuning in to Project Good.
We're a focus on what matters.
Hello and welcome to the Project Good podcast.
I'm your host Annmarie Hilton.
Project Good is a social impact podcastinterviewing experts and advocates
about the pressing problems that weface globally and hearing how they
suggest we move forward in the future.
The Project Good Podcast is broughtto you by Project Good Work.
The goal of this podcast is toinspire people and organizations
to develop a mindset that canmove others to positive action.
(00:22):
Regarding the complex social issuesfacing people and the planet,
we have a special flash episodefeaturing the Book Bank Foundation.
As of 2025, literacy in the UnitedStates presents a complex picture
with significant disparities acrossage groups, regions and demographics.
Overall, via adult literacy rateis approximately 79% of US adults,
(00:45):
which means they possess literacyskills sufficient for tasks like
comparing and contrasting informationor making low level inferences.
Around 21% of adultsstruggle in the US with.
Basic literacy tasks.
This includes 26.5 million adults atlevel one and 8.4 million below level
one, meaning struggling with basic testson literacy scales between 2017 and 2023,
(01:12):
the percentage of adults scoring at orbelow level one increase from 19% to 28%.
While those at level three orabove, decrease from 48% to 44%,
the lowest literacy rates are inCalifornia, New York, and Florida.
Today I have the pleasure ofinterviewing Dr. Glen Toby, who is
(01:34):
a globally recognized entrepreneur,wealth advisor, and humanitarian
whose life journey exemplifiesresilience, reinvention, and purpose.
What's a child facing homelessnesson the streets of Brooklyn?
He has since become a musicindustry pioneer, trusted advisor
to elite athletes and entertainers,and the founder of the Book Bank
(01:54):
Foundation, a nationally respectedliteracy and service organization.
As CEO of Glen, Toby Enterprises, Dr.Toby leads a dynamic international
holding company with investments in realestate, asset management, technology,
entertainment, and athlete representation.
Over his 30 year career, he has managedan advice and impressive list of clients,
(02:18):
including LL Cool J. Lance Reddick, NFL,legends, Asante, Samuel Antonio, free.
Free Freeman World Champion Boxer O'NeillsU Nova Bell and actor Jason Weaver.
Let's get into the interview.
(02:43):
Low literacy levels are estimated to costthe US economy up to 2.2 trillion annually
due to loss of productivity, increasedcrime, and higher welfare dependency.
Approximately 40% of students nationwidecannot read at a basic level with
nearly 70% of low income fourthgrad falling below the threshold.
(03:05):
Over 70% of inmates readbelow a fourth grade level.
America we are in trouble.
The Book Bank Foundation promotesliteracy, providing books and literature
to underprivileged children and theadult members of communities, and
provides resources for combatingabuse, hunger, and homelessness.
The organization led by Dr.
(03:25):
Glenn Toby has a vision to decreaseilliteracy through sound and innovative
methods that promote learning, socialawareness, and individual prosperity.
Dr. Toby's work has been featuredin Forbes, the New York Times,
and on major media platforms.
Yet his greatest impact remainsrooted in his unwavering commitment
to community literacy and legacy.
(03:46):
Currently serving as a board memberfor the Peter Tops Foundation, Dr.
Toby continues to champion causesthat empower future generations.
Welcome, Dr. Toby.
Dr. Glenn Toby (03:56):
Glad to be here today.
How are you?
Annmarie Hylton (03:58):
Uh, great.
I am very excited to talk aboutthis problem that, you know, I,
I was actually shocked as I waspreparing for this interview.
I didn't realize that it was so bad.
Um, you know, I guess I was, um, you.
It's been a, a long time since, uh, youknow, I was in, uh, elementary school
(04:21):
and, um, and a, a very long time, Iguess since I first started learning my
letters and, and reading and, you know,I just thought because we had advanced.
So much, um, from a technologystandpoint in society that, um, I
thought this, uh, problem was gettingsmaller and smaller and smaller,
but, um, it's actually the opposite.
(04:43):
Um, but before we dive into thesequestions to talk about illiteracy in,
um, the US I always ask each guest,uh, a personal question to understand
a little bit about how they became theperson they are and then also their heart.
And so my question for you is what?
Experience in life made you feel like theperson you've always wanted to be in life.
Dr. Glenn Toby (05:08):
Well, thank you Anne.
I'm glad to be here today.
Uh, I appreciate thegreat work you're doing.
Um, it's, your project is goingto project hopefully a different
perspective on other people.
I think this community, these communitycommunications, whether they're done in
silos, whether they're done in the office,the home, uh, it's all about community.
I appreciate you givingus this platform today.
Annmarie Hylton (05:31):
Yes.
And so, um, so what life experiencedo you think in through, when you
look back on all of your experiencesin life have made you feel, um, like
a moment that you remember that madeyou feel that, you know, this is
who I always wanted to be in life?
Dr. Glenn Toby (05:48):
Well, you know, I experienced, um, child trauma early.
I, um, had, uh, come home withmy mom and my brother one day.
Living in New York City, Brooklyn, crownHeights, and all of our life, we had
this amazing life, you know, full of loveand everything that you could imagine.
Creativity, spirituality,discipline, and just an abundance.
(06:12):
You know, as a single motherwith my grandmother there, we
had thrived and always had accessto the greatest of everything.
Education was always at the coreof it, whether it was going to the
movies, going to museums, but thenhere's this one day we come home.
My mother loses her job andshe'd been struggling with the
administration at the time.
Uh, at her job.
She worked in, uh, government,public government in New York
(06:33):
City, and she came home and thedoor to our very house was locked.
And this is a woman.
Who had unlocked the biggest doors,doors that had virtually no keys
to every challenge we watched ourmother overcome as a leader, not
just in our house, but also in thecommunity doing wonderful things.
(06:54):
So being homeless from the age of eightthat went on from eight until seven grade.
Uh, so we had, you know, support offamily members, uh, the government
agencies, you know, government supportsystems, but that period of homelessness.
Allowed us to really focus on our studies.
We had so much downtime.
We'd go to the libraries,we would go to museums.
(07:16):
Mother would always make us take notes.
Uh, she would quiz us andmake us do extra work.
So education was the foundationof, I guess I would call the
cure to the disease of ignorance.
Um, mental illness, it causes.
Literacy causes for a lot of people.
(07:36):
Drug abuse, incarceration,economic disparity, disparity.
But you know what I wanna say islow literacy rates don't cause
crime directly is what governmentinstitutions and polls say.
But it does createbarriers to opportunity.
It increase, it increases dropout risk,opens doors to negative influences,
especially in underserved communities.
(07:58):
So the data points don't alwaysreflect that it's education.
Driven.
I mean, moreover, we've seen that peopleare talking about mental health issues
and the change of the nuclear family andmany, uh, cultural, cultural aspect of
our society where settled as culturallyimmune differently in their families.
(08:18):
Um, but oftentimes in the innercity, whether it's black or white
or Asian, poor Latino, whoever itis, the person that's experiencing
this overwhelming struggle with.
Having food and havinga stable place to live.
Uh, it, it really has increasinglybeen growing more than ever because the
(08:41):
government's not on the same page withorganizations or people that are hands on.
They're speaking a totallydifferent language.
But for me, what led me down the path toeducation, what led me down the path to
finding resources is I believe that it'sa human right, that people should have
housing access to education and safety.
Annmarie Hylton (09:01):
Wow.
You know, one of the things I was just,I was so, I was touched and it made me,
uh, kind of a little bit tear at view.
You, you had an extraordinary mom.
Uh, I would say, um, to pushthrough, I guess from, that's a,
you know, quite a, a big time periodto go through, um, homelessness.
(09:23):
Um, and for her to still, um, youknow, uh, push you guys to be the.
Best, um, children and thebest people that you can be.
Even my experiencing all ofthat is just like remarkable.
I have to just say, yeah, thank
Dr. Glenn Toby (09:41):
you.
And she thinks you in her absence too.
Thank you.
Almost.
Annmarie Hylton (09:45):
Yes.
Uh, you know, that's, that's remarkable.
And, uh, and especially to keep ittogether too because, you know, um,
uh, just, you know, as people, we knowthat when we're under stress, you're,
you're, you're not always thinking.
Right.
Um, and, and so for someone tothen, um, you know, continue to
(10:05):
push like that, that's amazing.
And so the other thing that, um, uh.
I noticed in your, um, when you were,uh, talking, um, is that you talked
about how, uh, you know, both the,the government and, um, I guess we'll
say, uh, the rest of us on the streetsare living the, the life out here.
(10:29):
Um, we're not on the same page.
And that is something actually that,um, you know, in all of these social
impact issues keeps coming up.
It seems that, um, I guessthe world that we knew.
Um, and the world that we're going to, uh,going to or, you know, who knows about the
(10:50):
future, but what it seems like we're goingto go, um, you know, what we're trying
to create with all this, uh, technology.
I, I hope it's not going to be, um, likeTerminator, although it feels like it.
Um, uh, uh, you know, that's whereit feels like we're, we're heading.
It's, they're, they'rein, I would say, conflict.
(11:15):
And then, um, the other thing is whenyou talked about how, um, you know,
families, you know, you grew up in afamily, it seems that, you know, really
they got together and, you know, ofcourse, you know, I'm, I'm talking
before we had the internet and thingslike that, so you didn't have the, you
know, the tablet distraction as a child.
(11:35):
But now I find that, um, you know.
I even have to fight it in my own family.
They have to say, putdown, put down the tablet.
We're all together, we're hereto eat, or something like that.
Um, that the human interaction isalmost gone and it, in some families, I
guess you could say it is totally gone.
(11:55):
People text each other from being upstairsto downstairs, like, oh, do you want,
do you want the glass of milk or not?
And the person doesn't even comedown, they'll just text back?
No.
Or like, not right now.
I'll do it in five minutesafter I get off of my show.
But that's where we're going, you know?
And uh, so you were, you weretalking about how things have
(12:16):
have changed like that, um, in theworld that we are, are living in.
And so then, you know.
That sets us up.
I guess that, I guess I shouldn'thave been surprised that the
literacy raise is plummeting.
I guess from what you've seen,are those, um, the, the biggest
factors is the technology or doyou, have you seen something else?
Dr. Glenn Toby (12:40):
Well, the technology is actually the very
thin thread that's keeping theyouth, younger people together.
The issue is who's ever programmingsoftware, who's ever managing
or guiding the algorithm?
They can indelibly put in bias, whetherit is critical bias, spiritual bias,
(13:02):
racial bias, economic bias, it canbe programmed into the programming.
So if someone has access to somethingmore readily and faster, they're doing
less research 'cause they're not studyingor reading in the traditional way.
They're not, you know, delineatingor extrapolating the core value of
the messaging because the readingskills or the understanding has been
(13:22):
limited because these people are goingthrough this autonomous pro process
of saying, AI brought this to me.
The Google brought it to me.
The person who issued thenarrative, they're trusted because
they're in this digital domain.
So I think, you know, as, asmuch as we have access to so
much wisdom, sometimes you can bethe smartest person in the room.
That's, that's really being stupidbecause you're getting all of this
(13:46):
data, you're getting all of thisinformation, different narratives.
Um, it's issued in different, in differentmodalities with different experiences.
Critical thinking how to break downand how to read, how to write as well.
Reading without writing, um,is, is a different experience.
Writing without readingis different experience.
If you're just going with nuance andexperience and you're not da you're not
(14:08):
checking using data or cross-checkingthings or collaborating, you know, we're,
we're walking around and just enhancingignorance actually becomes a multiplier of
of, of someone that's listening in a very.
Limited manner with their own ideas.
And people are bouncing in, they'rebouncing influence from the influencers,
commercialization, consumerism,concepts, and self-reflection.
(14:32):
So it, it can be dangerous.
Sometimes they give usmore and it's too much.
Annmarie Hylton (14:38):
Yeah.
So how do you, I guess,because you are dealing with
young people and young people.
You know, um, they are, I, Iknow every generation they say
the young people are different.
They say that and every time there'syoung people, but now I truly believe
they are different because of this,the influence of the technology.
(14:59):
And I even see it like just goingto, for instance, a restaurant.
Um.
It is sometimes if, if they happento be a server, um, it is hard to
sometimes communicate or, yeah, evenit, um, or you see even if you are,
um, you know, working with youngpeople, it's almost like, uh, there's
(15:22):
a lack of comprehension of language.
Um, or there's an intimidationyou can see like, uh, there's
an anxiety that's building up.
Um, yeah.
If they have to interact with another.
Human.
Um, so we've created these peoplewho are essentially scared of people.
I would say, if I had to, to name it.
(15:44):
They're like scared of other human beings.
Um, the interact, the, the thought of, youknow, um, um, actually talking to someone
or being with another human, uh, being.
Now leads a lot of these youngpeople to have, um, these issues.
And so now, uh, my question then for youis then, you know, since you're dealing
(16:07):
with, um, you know, um, this kind of,uh, I'll just call it anxiety issue.
Um, and when it comes to reading andimagine, uh, I always think reading
takes, um, imagination, right?
For you to want to continue to.
Um, uh, you know, read the storyor whatever you're reading.
(16:28):
Um, how do you, I guess, start dealingwith these like, issues of them not being
able to actually understand, I guess.
Humans.
I have no better way to put it right now.
Dr. Glenn Toby (16:39):
Well put, well put.
I mean, some childrendon't know what cursive is.
Some kids aren't able to physicallywrite and they're not able to take
their ideas from the framework thatdefines character, their own point
of view, or to express what they'velearned or they need to learn.
And if you take someone that'snon-communicative, doesn't have the
(16:59):
communication skills, doesn't havethe social skills to express, like
forget about when it's endearing andyou're just having a social, you know,
communicable discussion that's in hand.
I mean, how does that affect the child?
You know, what experience are they having?
So if you really look at it.
(17:20):
We're talking about what they're notlearn learning in the traditional
forms of communication and waysthat people express themselves.
But one of the other issues, theydon't have a lot of positive options.
They're facing economic pressure.
Many teens and younger people aredrawn into local gangs that offer
a sense of belonging, quick moneythrough illegal activities, um, that,
(17:45):
uh, popular opinions that may notbe valued, and then oftentimes that.
Creates a presence with, youknow, police social services.
The overlap generally is because ofa lack of academic, uh, involvement
or youth are not involved with, uh,the core communities such as church.
Synagogue, um, whatever it is, themosque, whatever the, the place
(18:09):
is where people go to worship.
Even in the house, even in thehousehold, the traditional,
we talked about this earlier.
You know, the, the traditionalnuclear family has changed and we're,
as a result, is that we're havinga nuclear explosion in culture,
uh, in community and in curation.
Annmarie Hylton (18:28):
Yes.
And one of the biggest things, um, youknow, that I think is under, well, we
know, I guess we see it in the, thenews under fire is education itself
and the schools and, um, you know,uh, parents feel that they have, uh,
lost the autonomy that they used tohave or the control over the students.
Even the, the parents are under fire.
(18:51):
Um, it's, it's, uh.
You know, I feel, you know, notto be, I don't wanna sound like
conspiracy theorists, um, but I,I feel there's something, there's
something, uh, awry or a brewing.
Um, I can't put my hands exactly onit, but it's like we're creating.
(19:16):
I guess robots.
I, I, I, I, I don't know how else tosay it because the thing is, these
robots, they can't write their name.
Right.
So, um, and why, uh, this is, you know,this is, uh, uh, problematic to me, right?
You're, you used to be able to putyour name and so then people knew
that that was you, for sure, right?
(19:36):
But now.
Majority of students,they don't even know.
They can't even read the cursive.
Right.
They can't read it, they can't write it.
Um, and so they don't have, Iguess you would say, they, they
can't say, oh, this was me.
It's like going back to the dark agesand you just like put an X and it
just like, and you're just supposedto be like, you know, moving along
(19:59):
like, you know, I'm, I'm workernumber 0 0 5 2 or something like that.
Uh.
Like I said, I don't mean to sound likea conspiracy theorist, but when I look
out from the broad perspective, um, it'slike the individuality of the, of the
human person is being slowly taken away.
(20:20):
Um, I don't know if you've seen that.
Dr. Glenn Toby (20:23):
No, no.
I mean, you're right.
It's not a theory.
I think it's, it's, it's factualand actual, I mean, look at.
Chat, GPT, look at all the ai,look at the autonomous cars.
I mean, there's no autonomy in,uh, many of the people that are
supposed to be self-governed.
So if you are outside of the body,the mind, the soul, the community, the
(20:43):
church, the school, the household, thefamily, then where, where's the directive?
I mean, where, who's leading?
Are the machines leading us?
Are they leading the machines?
And if so, are they operating off ofsubstack of software and people who
are writing code from different, uh,communities with different ideology?
(21:07):
And if you can't communicate wellenough and you're not breaking the
knowledge down, if you can't understandthe data, if you don't know how to.
Source the data.
And if you don't know how to pull fromthe data sets, how is someone gonna be
able to come to a, a proper decision?
And then when they have challenges,or when data changes, or when
the platform changes, or there'sideation in the development of how
(21:29):
people communicate and teach, howare we gonna have the raw, organic.
Power of creativity and understandingto change the world and to be adaptive
using the same systems that weretraditionally, you know, forever, right?
You, you talk to that teacher penand paper, things went really slow.
They weren't changing as much.
It took years oftentimes forbooks to be published and
(21:50):
adaptive into the school systems.
Now ideas are changed within seconds.
How does that affect us with ADHD and with so many distractions
in the digital domain.
What are we expecting these kids tohold onto, not to mention the adults.
Annmarie Hylton (22:05):
Yeah, it's, it's, um, it's a scary mess to say the least.
Um, you know, I guess, uh, where didyou, when you, let's go back to the Book
Bank Foundation, I guess, when did youstart seeing this as a serious problem?
Dr. Glenn Toby (22:29):
For me, I had looked back, you know, I had a career
in, uh, and I still am very muchinvolved in sports entertainment.
I managed to l cool J for four years, dida show in the house with Quincy Jones,
with um, Charles Fisher, Brian the tour.
And then from there I went to the NationalFootball, national Basketball Association.
We did about $300 million in contractbusiness and have such say so in the money
(22:53):
that I earned, the money that I spent.
And the money that followedme and it was education.
And I would go back to my neighborhoodon a regular basis 'cause I was not
disconnected and I'd bring back,you know, items of, um, sneakers,
clothing, tickets for concerts.
And I wanted to take it to another level.
And I wanted something more sustainable.
And I sat down one day when I hadhit the wall and I felt like I'd done
(23:16):
all I'd done in my life career wise.
I sold these companies.
I, I lived in a 12,500 square foothouse, flying, private, living the life.
But something was missing.
It was a void.
I realized that I was driven by fear.
My success was driven byme not wanting to fail.
Again, me wanting to always be on the edgeor at the precipice of what change would
(23:38):
be so that I could be able to have accessmoney, um, and be able to help others.
But I think philanthropy calledme when, uh, one of my NFL players
on York Jets was doing something.
Josh Evans and of courseDamien Robinson, and we started
giving out mildly and gently.
And it continued to grow.
Uh, 50 cent.
The rapper joined me in other localcelebrities and sports, film, television,
(24:02):
and even pioneers in, uh, not justmusic and film and tv, but political
leaders, uh, spiritual leaders.
And it became so easy for me to canonize.
It became so easy for.
To ask people to come and doa community give back and to
continue to grow and grow and grow.
Where the challenge was how do we givethem something sustainable after they
(24:23):
eat the sandwich or wear the coat orput on the shoes that we've given them?
They only get, what, two tothree, maybe four years out of it.
So I had to find something that wouldbe more permanent or sustainable,
and I thought that would be puttingtogether the Book Bank Foundation, which
stands for books, obviously education.
You have bank, which you have aspiritual bank, an emotional bank, a
(24:47):
financial bank, a me memory bank, andthat's where we hold these things.
So I thought with a good heart and agreat mind, we put it together and we're
able to touch people's souls by beingable to share and give and teach the
art of giving and the art of receiving.
Annmarie Hylton (25:08):
Now, what has been the, the most, I guess, uh,
amazing or profound, um, uh, changethat you've seen, uh, your, your
found out, your facing, uh, effect?
Dr. Glenn Toby (25:23):
Hmm.
I would say much of what I've been ableto reflect on is how a kind act tolerance.
Patience and communicationcan shift the world.
You know, you talk to one personwho talks to somebody else, who
talks to somebody else, and thesecollect this collective consciousness
that we have continues to grow.
(25:44):
It can go from one or two peopleto even this amazing podcast.
Somebody's gonna hear us somewhereand it could touch their heart to take
a look at their policy, whether it'spersonal policy, public policy, or
some of the policies that have been.
Issue to them.
Some people are open to racial bias whenthey were young or racial prejudice or
(26:05):
they, they're privileged or they havelimitations or, I felt like the more
active I remained, it wasn't just mywork, it was the information and the
awareness that touched someone elseto maybe do what I do better or more.
Annmarie Hylton (26:18):
Now, since you've touched so many, um, different types of people,
um, you know, your foundation is not, um.
Just in Atlanta?
I believe Atlanta is where it started.
Is that correct?
It, it actually started in my heart,
Dr. Glenn Toby (26:35):
but uh, it was Mississippi and Atlanta at the same
time, whereas most people thought itstarted in New York, but I was living
in New York at the time, most of themajority of the time while traveling.
But I'd say Jackson, Mississippi,and Atlanta is where it was
kind of birthed in spirit.
Um, and then the bigger work and theheavier lifting was done in New York City.
Annmarie Hylton (26:55):
Now, I guess, um, did you, I guess, pick these locations
because you knew that these were criticalspots or is it just because these are
spaces or places that you hang out in?
Dr. Glenn Toby (27:07):
Well, it was because I was, I had such influence, you
know, managing these major recordingartists and these athletes and being
able to get the city to listen to me.
Leaders of all walks becauseof sports and entertainment.
It gave me the leverage points tobe able to come with a measure that
says, Hey, I will work on a projectwith you that brings us money.
(27:30):
Um, I'll do this broker deal,whether it's negotiating a
contract or doing a joint venture.
And I would always put the charityright in my heart and it'd be
the first thing I'd talk about.
People would look at it.
Uh, some would become enamored with itand continue to stay at book Bank forever.
And some enough just to.
Make a donation or to bereflective about some of the
(27:50):
issues and how they can affect it.
Affect it, cause theirmistakes or they're hurtful.
Karma moves a little bit faster.
It seems like it's a lotfaster that there's a response
or there's an action taken.
And I think part of that is becausepeople are more aware and people
(28:11):
are more in touch with some ofthe issues we have from education.
To civil rights issues, humanity,and just the core needs of people.
Annmarie Hylton (28:19):
Thank you Dr. Toby, for your time and insight.
To learn more about Dr. Toby andthe Book Bank Foundation, go to
the book bank foundation.org.
If you have a passion for an unservedcommunity, a social justice problem,
or wanna change minds contactproject, good work@projectgood.work.
Subscribe to our mailing list at Projectgood.work/subscribe to get our episodes
(28:40):
and blog articles sent to you each month.
To our listeners, thanks fortuning in to Project Good.
We're a focus on what matters.
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