Thank you to the infamous anonymous for your generous donation of Alice Walker’s “Meridian”, it’s much appreciated!! <3 <3
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#donations #alicewalkerMore you might like
Thank you to professor, producer and publisher Dr. Yaba Blay for her generous donation to the Free Black Woman’s Library!!
The award winning classic novel - The Color Purple written by Alice Walker.
Let me tell y'all about how my heart nearly leaped out of my chest when I opened this amazing box of book donations from an LP Miles of Brookfield, CT sent to The Free Black Women’s Library. All that Zora had me in my feelings and teary eyed, her work beyond “Their Eyes Were Watching God” is absolutely stellar but rarely praised or discussed. I did get teary eyed gazing at 7 of her incredible novels laid out in front of me and this sweet person threw in a hardcover underrated classic by the Queen Toni Morrison to boot!! 🎉💕
By Zora -
Dust Tracks on the Road
Mules and Men
Jonah’s Gourd Vine
Tell My Horse
Mule Bone (written with Langston Hughes)
Seraph on the Suwannee
Moses, Man of the Mountain
And Jazz by Toni Morrison
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Thank you so much whoever you are, I’m so deeply moved by this incredibly thoughtful gesture. 💕📚💕📚💕
Alice Walker
This month The Free Black Women’s Library celebrates Women’s Herstory Month at the beautiful and historical landmark site “The Weeksville Heritage Center” where we’ll be discussing the book “Temple of my Familiar” in honor of brilliant wordsmith, activist and catalyst for womanist thinking Alice Walker.
Alice Walker gifted us a life affirming concept when she broke down the term Womanism back in 1983.
Alice Walker’s Definition of a “Womanist” from In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose Copyright 1983.
WOMANIST
1. From womanish. (Opp. of “girlish,” i.e. frivolous, irresponsible, not serious.) A black feminist or feminist of color. From the black folk expression of mothers to female children, “you acting womanish,” i.e., like a woman. Usually referring to outrageous, audacious, courageous or willful behavior. Wanting to know more and in greater depth than is considered “good” for one. Interested in grown up doings. Acting grown up. Being grown up. Interchangeable with another black folk expression: “You trying to be grown.“ Responsible. In charge. Serious.
2. Also: A woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women’s culture, women’s emotional flexibility (values tears as natural counterbalance of laughter), and women’s strength. Sometimes loves individual men, sexually and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Not a separatist, except periodically, for health. Traditionally a universalist, as in: “Mama, why are we brown, pink, and yellow, and our cousins are white, beige and black?” Ans. “Well, you know the colored race is just like a flower garden, with every color flower represented.” Traditionally capable, as in: “Mama, I’m walking to Canada and I’m taking you and a bunch of other slaves with me.” Reply: “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
3. Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless.
4. Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender.
Please join us on this gorgeous site as we discuss this gorgeous work and Womanism in general. Open your mind anc come share your thoughts.
The library currently contains over 600 books written by Black women, and all are availalable to you by trade. Bring a good book written by a Black woman to get a good book written by a Black woman!!
Also feel free to come and browse through, cuddle with, flip through and basically love up on the books in the library.
All ages, genders and races are welcome.
The Free Black Women’s Library is stationed today at the beautiful historic landmark site, The Weeksville Heritage Center, Brooklyn’s largest African American institution. The library currently contains 600 books written by Black women and all are available for trade. Bring a good book written by a Black woman and get a good book written by a Black woman. ✨📚✨ Today we are discussing Alice Walker, The Temple of My Familiar and #Womanism in general. All are welcome. 💕
WOMANIST
1. From womanish. (Opp. of “girlish,” i.e. frivolous, irresponsible, not serious.) A black feminist or feminist of color. From the black folk expression of mothers to female children, “you acting womanish,” i.e., like a woman. Usually referring to outrageous, audacious, courageous or willful behavior. Wanting to know more and in greater depth than is considered “good” for one. Interested in grown up doings. Acting grown up. Being grown up. Interchangeable with another black folk expression: “You trying to be grown.“ Responsible. In charge. Serious.
2. Also: A woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women’s culture, women’s emotional flexibility (values tears as natural counterbalance of laughter), and women’s strength. Sometimes loves individual men, sexually and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Not a separatist, except periodically, for health. Traditionally a universalist, as in: "Mama, why are we brown, pink, and yellow, and our cousins are white, beige and black?” Ans. “Well, you know the colored race is just like a flower garden, with every color flower represented.” Traditionally capable, as in: “Mama, I’m walking to Canada and I’m taking you and a bunch of other slaves with me.” Reply: “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
3. Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless.
4. Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender. 📚💕
#blackwomanbibliophile #alicewalker #mobilelibrary #Brooklyn #womenshistorymonth #books #bookstagram #freeblackwomenslibrary
On this day last year over a 100 people gathered at Brew bar in Brooklyn for the first Free Black Women’s Library Pop up of the year. It was a mild winter so we spent the bulk of the day outside talking, laughing and exchanging books with each other. Folks of all ages, genders and races came through to share in the brilliance and magic that Black women bring and It was awesome. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Featured author Kaitlyn Greenidge read from her amazing debut novel “We Love you Charlie Freeman” which ended up being a best seller and one of the best books to come out in 2016!!! It was a stellar day. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
This year the first pop up is happening on January 19 at Brooklyn Movement Center, located at Stuyvesant and Decatur from 5 to 9pm. This is in collaboration with actions taking place all over the globe in honor of domestic violence survivor Bresha Meadows. Hoping to see you there. ✨🙏🏾💕
This old photo I took while sorting The Free Black Women’s Library three years ago got me to thinking.
I started collecting books by Black women to share with my Brooklyn community years ago, and from the very beginning each time I’ve sorted the collection one author whose book I’ve had more than any other is Toni Morrison. Her book BELOVED to be specific but all her work is often present in multiples. I was wondering why this is?
Obviously she has been outrageously prolific throughout her literary career, but could that be it?
Or is it her genius of style and storytelling?
What do you think?
Can we say that this random fun fact establishes her as something very specific within the Black Woman’s Literary Cannon?
What word can we use to describe this status/post?
I would easily say genius but I’m biased. 😆 🤓
I would place Maya, Alice and Ntozake in that same circle, as well as Gloria and Zora. They all gave us jewels of beauty where the essence of Black womanhood is shown & known. 🖤📚⭐️
I Believe the Women.
by Alice Walker
I believe the women.
Whatever the reason
for their delay in coming forth,
I believe they would not
come forward now
except to feel sane
and clean
again.
Sisters keep your heads up.
I also feel compassion
for the old man.
How can I not?
I love old men,
partly because
it takes so long
for them to awaken
to themselves. The selves
they hid or put to sleep
when they were five
or even younger.
Who knows what happens
to misalign a soul?
We can grow from this
if we try. It is not the end
of the world. What other people think of us should be our last concern.
It has always been what we think of ourselves
that matters.
When we have hurt others
no matter our reason
maturity demands we own up
go to them
say I am sorry and will you forgive me?
Most people don’t believe
in this
and that is why the world
is out of control.
You have lost a beloved idol precious to you; how will you make it
without your belief?
I would walk on my knees over pebbles
to unbreak your heart.
But that is magic none of us can do.
“Some periods of our growth are so confusing that we don’t even recognize that growth is happening. We may feel hostile or angry or weepy and hysterical, or we may feel depressed. It would never occur to us, unless we stumbled on a book or a person who explained to us, that we were in fact in the process of change, of actually becoming larger, spiritually, then we were before. Whenever we grow, we tend to feel it, as a young seed must feel the weight and inertia of the earth as it seeks to break out of it shell on its way to becoming a plant. Often the feeling is anything but pleasant. But what is most unpleasant is the not knowing what is happening. Those long periods with something inside ourselves seems to be waiting, holding his breath, unsure about what the next step should be, eventually become the periods we wait for, for it is in those periods we are being prepared for the next phase of our life and that, in all probability, a new level of the personality is about to be revealed.” - a highly relatable mood from LIVING BY THE WORD by Alice Walker ⭐️
Last year the folks from @bust_magazine reached out to me asking for a list of 5 books and as you see I had to be a little contrary and give them 6.
I also turned it into a mini writing assignment for myself and wrote out the reasons why I chose each one, I named it 5 Books for Bust and shared it on my Patreon.
Click www.Patreon.com/TFBWL to join
I also spent a couple months looking out for it, and then promptly forgot out about it because LIFE.
They shared my list yesterday 🎉 - “Righteous Recommendations from Olaronke Akinmowo”
it’s a cute teeny tiny feature, linked on my Twitter 📝
But more importantly, I noticed that we can have some serious Word Play, and craft sentences and stories with their titles.
For instance -
⭐️Black futures are filled with thick riotous girls, church ladies and sister outsiders who live secret lives with the stars and the Blackness between them.⭐️
♥️🌹📚♥️🌹