Today Sunday June 24 the official summer session for The Free Black Women’s Library pop up!! It’s happening at BedVyne Brew on the corner of Putnam and Tompkins from noon to 5. We are celebrating the life of my dear friend Dumeha and conjuring playful summer time love vibes in her honor. Feel free to bring your jump rope, deck of cards, chess set and board games. You are also welcome to trade books by Black women with the library, read, write and chill. All are welcome.
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We are back at one of our Bedstuy faves for this month’s pop up!! Join us for some freshly brewed tea and liberating literature based conversation on Sunday, December 22nd from noon to 4 Brooklyn Tea
Come check out and enjoy The Free Black Women’s Library vast gorgeous collection of books written by Black women
Bring a good book written by a Black woman to donate or trade.
Purchase a TFBWL T-shirt, button, sticker or poster.
This is our last installation in what has been a long, busy challenging and amazing year.
So grateful for the growth, support and appreciation!!
Sending so much LOVE to all our patrons on Patreon without you this project could not be, thank you so sooooooo much!!
Beautiful Saturday, next pop up is Sunday August 26th at The Bedford YMCA in Brooklyn from noon to 5.
“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, than 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 its 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 when something inside ourselves seems to be waiting, holding its breath, unsure about what the next step should be, eventually become the periods we wait for, for it is in those periods that we realize that 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.” - Alice Walker/Living by the Word
Blessed Equinox Beloveds, now is a time of transition and deep learning, touched with sadness and confusion. These words of Alice Walker are like a balm to my soul. As Spring approaches, many of us are feeling an alignment to nature’s cycle, shedding and releasing shells and skins, bursting and blooming into something fresh and new. I am feeling both overwhelmed and excited by the changes. Currently in my last semester of an MFA program, working on my final portfolio project and investigating the legacy of radical Black librarianship. I am both in awe and inspired by women like Jewele Mazique, Mayme Agnew Clayton, and of course audre lorde. There is a long standing tradition in our community of finding liberation, healing, empowerment, community and joy through our words and stories, and the folks who take time to archive and provide access to them are my role models and inspiration.
Want to wish you a powerful and love filled Spring season as well as invite you to the next Free Black Women’s Library session.
We are back at cozy Bailey’s Cafe located in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 324 Malcolm X Boulevard. Its Happening on Sunday, March 25th from 2pm to 7pm.
We are discussing the mind-blowing debut novel from Akwaeke Emezi entitled Freshwater.
This is a gorgeous and deep read, that explores the metaphysics of identity and being, the layers of mind, body and spirit. It is a heavy and powerful story that caused a psychic shift in me upon reading. It’s now on my list of favorites.
All are welcome to take part in the conversation about the book and its characters, the conversation starts at 4pm.
(please keep in mind the book contains scenarios of physical trauma, suicidal ideation and sexual assault so most likely these topics will be discussed)
Also feel free to save the date for our April edition of the library which is happening on Sunday, April 29th from 1pm to 6pm at Ancient Song Studio, located at 521 Halsey Street, Brooklyn.
We are discussing, When They Call You A Terrorist, A Black Lives Matter Memoir, the amazing memoir by Patrisse Khan Cullors and asha bandele.
This book is an amazing testimony, a brave and precious offering and reflection on Black womanhood, state violence, the criminalization of poverty, mental health disparities, relationship accountability, vulnerability and the power of community. This book taught me the same way Assata’s memoir taught me about Black Feminism, community organizing and I am so grateful for its existence I look forward to talking about it with you next month.
This conversation is open to all, reading the book before attending is highly recommended.
** I have consumed 8 books this year, and these are my two favorites so far!!
My next read Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, is a YA fantasy novel that melds contemporary issue with West African mythology, its generated quite a buzz and I’m looking forward to diving in.
Please feel free to drop me a message letting me know what you are reading these days, as I would love to know!!
Thanks for all the sweet support via kind messages, book donations and financial contributions!!
and let’s continue to stay connected through social media, Instagram, Facebook & Tumblr…..
Here’s to blooming in love, language and creativity!!
and my sincerest apologies if you are getting this message twice!!
Peace!!

Good morning!!
Just want to say thank you to everyone who supports and appreciates this project and page!! Thank you for your likes, comments, DMs and all the good and loving energy you send my way. Thank you so much for all the awesome books by Black women you send me, drop off and trade in. Thank you so much to the folks who come to the library each month and engage with the material and many activities being offered. Thank you to those who have started TFBWL branches in your area. Thank you especially to the patrons who give funds towards the growth and sustainability of this project every month through Patreon, I would not be able to keep this going without your financial contributions!! Recently I attempted to get funding from an organization that claims to give money to public practice social engagement community building type projects, multiple people told me to apply for the big money they were offering not just cause they know I needed it, but also cause they felt TFBWL was a perfect fit, but guess what!! they said this work does not have enough social impact and that I need to be doing more to get their dollars. 🤔
Their response gave me pause, because I thought of all of you and the hundreds of people who come to the library every month, the Black girl bookworms who spend the entire day at the library, the educators who create curriculum and reading lists based on the library’s collection, the Black women who feel excited and affirmed when they see over a thousand books written by people who look like them about things they care about, the writers who feel inspired and open, the elders who lift me up and praise my efforts, the folks who come in looking for a very specific book and always always find it, all of those who tell me they feel liberated, creative and joyful just being in the space. This all feels good and impactful to me, so I had to let go of their opinion that I’m not doing enough and just continue on, focus on what feels good and just be thankful. I am filled with gratitude. 🖤

“The planet is a big daunting place. It is easy to feel at the whim of the universe. We have been convinced we are in effectual at exacting any real change against our social systems and structures, so instead we land the guilt and blame squarely on the shoulders of the most accessible party: ourselves. This burden has kept us immobile in our own lives and oblivious to our impact in the world. The weight of the shame has kept us small and trapped in the belief that our bodies and our lives are mistakes. What an exhausting and disheartening way to live. It was this sense of epic discouragement that fueled my inquiry into the nature of apology and let me to explore how our lives might look different if we began living unapologetically. What would the world look like if each of us navigated our lives with the total awareness that we owed no one an apology for our bodies? That exploration into unapologetic living led me to a two-tiered hypothesis my hunch was the more unapologetically I showed up in my body, in my community, my job, family, and world, one of two things would happen: either I would pass on to others the power and permission to be there unapologetic selves, or others would feel indicted and intimidated by my unapologetic being and would attempt to contain or shrink me.” - THE BODY IS NOT AN APOLOGY by Sonya Renee Taylor
I will be referencing this wonderful book for our next session. It offers deep exploration and sweet guidance on radical self love.
I really appreciate the political analysis within her reflections, e.g. - “our beliefs about bodies disproportionately impact those whose race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and age deviate from our default notions. The further from the default, the greater the impact. We are all affected but not equally.” It’s important to note the role that racism and patriarchy play when discussing ideas around self love. The psychic trauma that society inflicts on certain bodies make a difference in that process.
Join me 8/26 @bedstuyy The library will be in the courtyard, all are welcome to come check out the collection, hang out in the space and trade books by Black women.
Blessed Wednesday Loves, so excited to share with you this month’s theme for The Free Black Women’s Library is some what fashion focused as we are exploring the connections between culture, clothing and consumerism!!
Join me Sunday on May 21st from noon to 5 with special guest, cultural scholar, media maven, stylist and world renowned fashion designer Busayo discussing the many connections between culture, fashion and consumerism.
** “Cultural Ownership: the Complexity of African Textiles”**
happening at
Bed Vyne Brew, 370 Tompkins Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11221 from noon to 5pm
This conversation will share a short history of the diverse array of African textiles and the relationship between textiles and different African cultures and traditions. In addition there will be some discussion of the complex and problematic history of Ankara (i.e. Dutch Wax Print), what are its implications for those of us that love the fabric and culture ownership. The history of these fabrics also implicate debates around cultural appropriation. If Europeans invented it and are the primary producers, what makes it African print? Also, what are the ways in which the current production of these textiles fail to benefit Africans. This will be a fun, and dynamic discussion of African fabrics and implication for women who love fashion!
Also the library now has over 650 books by Black women available for trade, please come through to trade books and/or take part in the conversation!!
All are welcome!!
Wishing you all an amazing week!!
Peace!!

“After all, my life, as I saw it, was a thing divided in three; There was Brooklyn, U.S.A.,and specifically the tight, little, ingrown immigrant world of Bajan Brooklyn that I had fled. Then, once I started writing, the Carribean and it’s conga line Ig islands had been home off and on for any number of years. While all the time, lying in wait across the Atlantic, in a direct line almost with tiny wallflower Barbados, had been the Gulf of Guinea and the colossus of ancestral Africa, the greater portion of my tripartite self that I had yet to discover, yet to know”
🌍⭐️🖤
Recently finished TRIANGULAR ROAD the memoir of award winning best selling bold and astute Caribbean writer Paule Marshall. I make no secret about how I love reading memoirs (of Black women) and this one is no exception. I was quite tickled to find out that like many of our other faves (Zora, Audre, Toni, Maya), Miss Paule also worked at a library. ☺️ And currently living in Bedstuy I can’t help but think about her Bajan family moving and living through the same streets that I occupy in present day. I gagged when she dropped the bomb about attending Hunter college for free as a NYC resident. FREE college y’all!!! Whew!! Can you imagine?!
Most of all she talks about how her life, culture and travel influenced her writing and worldview. It starts in 1965, with her as a fledgling new writer and mother, without any warning she receives an invitation to join the Peoples Poet, Sir Langston Hughes on a cultural tour of Europe. She shares lovely moments from this spontaneous journey and the years that follow which found her writing/living in various parts of the Caribbean and eventually Africa. While traveling she goes through a process of constant self discovery and inspiration. She explores issues of identity, heritage and history, all of which plant seeds for the classic novels she gifted us, BROWN GIRL, BROWNSTONES, PRAISE SONG FOR THE WIDOW, THE CHOSEN PLACE, THE TIMELESS PEOPLE..Her voice here as in her stories is witty, affectionate, absorbing, amusing and real. More than anything it reminded me of the secrets & pleasures that can be uncovered when we remain open, ready and down for adventure!!
Adding this to my reads for The Free Black Women’s Library Reading Challenge - a memoir or autobiography 🖤👌🏿📚
What an amazing day!! Thank you so much to everyone that came through for today’s pop up library at Brooklyn movement center!! Special shout out to Liza Jessie Peterson for reading excerpts from her amazing debut “All Day” and dropping infinite truth bombs on the prison industrial complex and the criminalization of Black youth!! The book is available on Amazon for pre-order!!
Please save the date for next month’s pop up March 11 at Weeksville Heritage Center!! Thanks!!

“Hoodoo, or Voodoo, as pronounced by the whites, is burning with a flame in America, with all the intensity of a suppressed religion. It has its thousands of secret adherents. It adapts itself like Christianity to its locale, reclaiming some of its borrowed characteristics to itself, such as fire worship as signified in the Christian church by the altar and the candles and the belief in the power of water to sanctify as in baptism. Belief in magic is older than writing. So nobody knows how it started.” - an excerpt from MULES AND MEN, © 1935 ⭐️
Looking forward to sharing my favorite Hoodoo Stories gathered by novelist, folklorist, legendary anthropologist and TFBWL muse Zora Neale Hurston on Sunday, October 31 at our next TFBWL session in honor of Hoodoo Heritage Month.
Join us at The Plaza at 300 Ashland in Fort Greene, Brooklyn for a special collaboration with our friends from The Center of Fiction.
Folks are welcome to come dressed as their favorite author or character to compete for prizes, as well as bring good books written by Black women to trade with the collection from noon to 5.
See you then!!










