Four Black women authors will talk about their work this Saturday at the Codman Square Health Center at 11 a.m. in an event produced by the Greater Boston Section of the National Council of Negro Women (GBS NCNW).
“We’re hoping to inspire reading among children, [and] inspire young women to fulfill their aspirations if they want to become writers,” said Lisa Braxton, president of the section, and one of the authors who will speak. “We’ve done it. We’re examples of Black women who’ve gone out there, dreamed of being writers, and pursued it,” she said..
After a light breakfast, each author will present her work, including a 15-minute reading. In Wednesday Boateng’s “C Is for Cowgirl,” readers meet the cowgirl with cornrows. Lesa Cline-Ransom’s “Finding Langston” trilogy tells the story of a boy who moves from Alabama to Chicago in 1946 and discovers the poet Langston Hughes’s work at the Chicago Public Library, an opportunity he didn’t have in Alabama, where the library was whites-only. Denise Cosby’s “Murder at Harvard’s Kirkland House” is a nonfiction work about her son’s murder, and Cosby’s subsequent grief. Braxton, who wrote “The Talking Drum,” an adult novel about gentrification, will perform African drumming. The audience can participate with shakers.
A meet-and-greet and book signing will follow.
Advertisement
NCNW was founded in New York City in 1935, and advocated for job access, voting rights, and anti-lynching laws, giving “Black women the opportunity to realize their goals for social justice and human rights through united, constructive action,” their website says. Boston’s chapter was established in 1992.
“We’re writers. We want to see our words get out there. We want to see a well-rounded Black history presented to the younger generation. But we see that’s under attack right now. And it’s very disturbing,” said Braxton.
November is Family Literacy Month, and Braxton encourages attendees to bring a children’s book to donate to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County.
Advertisement
Braxton hopes the event will also serve as a reminder. ”Our voices need to be heard. We should not be hushed up.”
“Right now our country’s under attack because so much of Black history has been pulled off the shelves. We need to advocate for everyone to learn about history, history in general — Black history.”
Nov. 18. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The Great Hall at Codman Square. 6 Norfolk St., Dorchester. Free. gbsncnw.org
Kajsa Kedefors can be reached at kajsa.kedefors@globe.com.