In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Edwards researched what families understood by the request to "read to their child."
In the book Change is Gonna Come: Transforming Literacy Education for African American Children, winner of the 2011 Edward B. Fry Book Award,[REF] Edwards and co-authors Gwendolyn McMillon and Jennifer Turner address historical supports and roadblocks for African Americans to obtain education and literacy skills.