The Free Black Women's Library

[The Free Black Women's Library]

Every once in a while I get a message asking if the books I post are for sale. I got one yesterday and realized I’m way over due for a 411 style post so here goes -

I am an interdisciplinary artist, set decorator, yoga teacher and single mother born in Brooklyn, NY.

I am a shy introverted nerdy day dreaming soft hearted Aquarius. A film fanatic, dance junkie, Black Feminist Womanist femme, lover of art, nature, music, books, and Black culture.

I started a literary project called The Free Black Women’s Library in 2015, it’s a mobile pop up and biblio installation that centers and celebrates the work of Black women writers, monthly sessions feature workshops, authors, film screenings, performances, games and dope conversation. All ages, races and genders are welcome to trade books with the library. Books written by self identified Black women only, books written by Black non binary and GNC folks are also welcome. For every book you bring, you get to take one this your books are your currency!! 🙌🏿📚

All genres accepted!!

I take photos of people with their book trades for my archives, I love taking photos of people w/their trades and consider it an integral part of this work which revolves around the brilliance of Black women, community engagement and liberation thru literature.

Photos from OTD 2017 @bedvynebrew 🖤🖤

There are now TFBWL libraries in 4 other cities, which is AMAZING!!! Sending deep LOVE to my co ministers in this work, mighty gorgeous branches of this glorious tree in Houston @thefreeblackwomenslibrary_htx

Detroit

@thefreeblackwomenslibrary_det

Atlanta

@thefreeblackwomenslibrary.atl and extra special big birthday love to Los Angeles @thefreeblackwomenslibrary_la which turns one today!!! AYE!!🎂❤️🎉📚

The library is funded through Patreon, I have TFBWL angels who donate $2 to $50 a month. This money goes toward the labor, storage, transportation, PO box and other costs. Also funded through t shirt, poster and other merchandise sales.

It is nowhere near enough but I am hopeful and deeply motivated with goals of a book mobile and storefront space in mind!! I imagine it as a radical co working space, reading hub and resource for all.

If you would like to support the vision please consider becoming a Patreon patron.

Thank you!! 📚🖤🙏🏿

[The Free Black Women's Library]

4 years ago today, I took 100 books by Black women and set them up on a brownstone stoop in Brooklyn. I danced in honor of the sacred beauty, brilliance and creativity that Black women bring and let my community know I was starting a small social art project known as The Free Black Women’s Library. I was nervous AF, I had been sitting on the idea for months unsure if I had the time, capability, and bandwidth to make it happen.

I am a single mother, freelance artist with limited funds, also a loner, extremely shy, introverted, prone to bouts of severe depression, but I was sick of seeing Black womanhood attached to struggle, pain, trauma, victimhood, criminality, violence, poverty, ugliness, incompetence, so much negativity attached to our existence.

I knew different, I felt different and wanted to show proof to myself and my community, so I jumped in and said phuck it, what’s the worse that will happen? People will think, I’m crazy or weird, - that ain’t nothing new.

Black women’s words have saved my life, healed me, nurtured me and provided me with the comfort that I’ve needed in every rough moment of my life and I wanted to share that fact/testimony. I did my first official book swap that day and the rest as they say is history.

Here I am now with a collection of 1200 with branches forming across the country!! 🙌🏿💓⭐️☺️

I had no idea what would happen next, the journey has been both good, tiring, educational, inspiring and complicated. 😂

Thanks to those who show support and love. Extra special love and shout out to all the Patreon subscribers and those that send me books!! You are my angels!!! ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

The financial support you give is needed and deeply appreciated!! This project gets zero funding outside of you!!! I love you for helping me keep this thing going!!

Happy Birthday to us!! 💓💓

[The Free Black Women's Library]

This Traveling Library Is Ensuring Black Literature "Has the Place It Deserves"

"Connecting with people over books is something that always felt really good."

Oprah Magazine

Thank you much to CiCi Adams for writing this gorgeous thoughtful piece on The Free Black Women’s Library for O, The Oprah Magazine!!

[The Free Black Women's Library]

The Free Black Women’s Library is officially installed and open, as part of the nerdy quirky pretty exhibit CURRICULUM : SPACES FOR LEARNING & UNLEARNING at

EFA Project Space

323 West 39th street

2nd floor

NYC, NY

Now until March 16. ⭐️📚

You are welcome to visit and trade books written by Black women with the library, watch the original version of Ntozake Shange’s iconic play FOR COLORED GIRLS on the monitor, read, write, draw, play, sleep, dance in the space with the books, attend our monthly book discussions on the last Sunday of each month.

January - TRAINING SCHOOL FOR NEGRO GIRLS by Camille Acker ⭐️

February- ELOQUENT RAGE by Brittney Cooper

Excited to share that Dr. Cooper will be present for this conversation!! YAY!!🙌🏾

*Please help me keep track of your trades by writing the info down on index cards stacked near non fiction, by writing date and titles*

Thank you so much to Damali, Laylah, Djibril Toure and Ursula Williams for the tactical &logistical support!!! 🖤

Thank you to the EFA team and curators for inviting me to take part in this wonderful show!!

Teachers and Art Educators take your classes to engage with this work, take your best friends and lovers, cousins, neighbors. Offer workshops, take meetings, meet up for lunch dates.

Please take pictures and tag me for the archives.

Enjoy and have fun!!

Dive into this work and let me know what thrills you.

I will be adding more details as time goes on.

This work is collaborative, joyful and sensual. This work is an exploration of the brilliance, beauty, diversity and imagination of Black womanhood and I’m thrilled to share it in this way.

More to come 🤸🏾‍♂️🤸🏾‍♂️🖤🖤📚📚☺️☺️

[The Free Black Women's Library]

The Free Black Women’s Library: Cultural Activism in Motion

A traveling social art project featured at the NY Art Book Fair celebrates literary works by Black female authors.

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

[The Free Black Women's Library]

The Free Black Women’s Library is an interactive biblio-installation that currently features over 900 books of varying genres written by Black women as well as visual art, film screenings, workshops, readings, book talk and critical conversations. The purpose/mission of the library is to center and celebrate the words, stories and lives of Black women from all over the world. The library pops up monthly and mainly in Brooklyn but has also been to Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore and Chicago.
To support the library feel free to send your favorite books by Black women to 1072 Bedford ave, box 39, Brooklyn, NY. To make a financial contribution which goes toward transportation and administrative costs as well as future website and app, you can make a donation to the crowdrise page. Thank you!!

[The Free Black Women's Library]

theglowup.theroot.com

The Best Book Club You’ll Ever Join - The Free Black Women’s Library centers Black Women’s Literature

[The Free Black Women's Library]

TBT to the Free Black Women’s Library session summer 2016, celebrating Black Women’s Literature on a Brooklyn stoop, we talked about gentrification and the myth of safe spaces. The library now has three times this many books, (almost one thousand)
it’s a bit overwhelming but I’m enjoying the ride regardless!! Stop by Sunday January 28th, from noon to 5 to check out the collection. Bring a good book written by a Black woman to get one.
521A Halsey street, Brooklyn.

[The Free Black Women's Library]

#TBT (this post contains spoilers about the book featured - Dawn by Octavia Butler)
✨📚✨📚✨📚✨📚✨📚✨📚✨📚

I had so many awesome fun conversations with folks at #Afropunk this past weekend. It was overwhelming and incredibly joyous at the same time.
One of my faves was with a lovely Black woman artist/organizer from Pennsylvania. She was bright eyed, smart and open.
I felt my nerd brain cells spinning at the speed of light when in the midst of our talk, I said something about Afrofuturism and she said “what’s that?” and later on when I said something about Octavia Butler and she said “who’s that?” I wanted to say - how much time do you have ? 😂🤔
We had a fun and lively exchange about these things and more. She shared with me that she isn’t much of a reader, so I told her to look out for this series coming out on this series on Netflix by Ava Duvernay that will be based on the book “Dawn” by Octavia Butler.
She said tell me the plot cause I’m not going to read it. Being an #Aquarius means sparing no details and the look on her face when I talked about the ooloi, their writing tentacles and the way they mutate and make love was hilarious. I said you have two choices you can either die or have sex with aliens to further the existence of human species on the planet. She said I choose death and then we both laughed till tears flew out of our eyes and then talked about other things.
I deeply enjoy the intimacy of one to one conversations on a large variety of subjects. 💕✨😊
I am over the moon thrilled, excited and low key obsessed about this adaptation of this book. I have been wanting to see Octavia’s work in film form for over two decades. I wonder who will play Lilith and what the living breathing space ship will look like and if the aliens will be played by people in costumes or will they be crafted by the magic of CGI.
It’s all quite exciting!!! There’s tons of Afrofuturist magic coming to the screen cause both NK Jemisin and Nnedi Okarofor books are also being made into tv series!! What a time to be alive!! 🎉🎉🎉