SOLD OUT: African Americans and Children's Literature: A Symposium and Exhibition

WE ARE MAKING A LIMITED NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL SEATS AVAILABLE ON FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE ARRANGEMENT. REGISTER NOW.

COME LEARN THE STORY AND LEGACY OF WASHINGTON, DC’S AFRICAN AMERICAN AUTHORS OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE—Past and Present, including May Miller Sullivan, Sterling Brown, Maxine Clair, Gwendolyn Brooks, Daphne Muse, Lucille Clifton, Eloise Greenfield, Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, Jennifer Lawson, Courtland Cox, Adjoa Burrowes, E. Ethelbert Miller, Carolivia Herron, Aisha Rice, Tricia Elam Walker, jonetta rose barras, Sheila Crider, David Miller, Michelle Meadows, Leah Henderson , Michelle Green, Lakia Wilson and others. 

COME MEET THE PEOPLE AND INSTITUTIONS THAT STOOD AGAINST RACISM AND INEQUALITY TO HELP ESTABLISH AN AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY CANON THAT BUILT AND FORTIFIED A COMMUNITY.

KICKING  OFF THE DAY at 9 am: Sidney Clifton, daughter of Lucille Clifton and founder of Clifton House; Sidney Clifton is also a producer, director and creative executive overseeing animated, mixed-media and live-action content. She has produced hundreds of hours of episodic and longform content,  and children’s and primetime content on Apple TV+, BET, NBC, Showtime, Paramount, and Hallmark Channel, and serves on the Board of Directors of The Academy of American Poets. 

9:20 am: A SPECIAL EXHIBITION featuring historical information about Black writers who lived and/or worked in DC during the late 1960s through the present.

THEN GO INSIDE THE EFFORT TO BUILD AN AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN'S LITERARY CANON 

9:30 am- REMOVING THE MASK, AMPLIFYING OUR VOICES: The Struggle of Black Authors to Get Their Stories For Children Depicting Authentic African American Life, History and Culture Published By Mainstream Companies PRESENTERS:Carolivia Herron, Wynn Yarbrough, Bernard Demczuk (Moderator) and jonetta rose barras

11:00 am LUNCH (on your own) A limited number of boxed sandwiches will be provided on a first-come-first-served bases AND FOR CASH ONLY ($11.00). Please remember you can bring your lunch or order through one of the dlivery services--GrubHub, DoorDash etc. 

11:30 am — IN CONVERSATION-- An exciting and provocative conversation between award-winning author and influencer Sharon Bell Mathis, a leader of the "Golden Age of Black Children’s Literature, and Grammy nominee, and literary activist and poet E. Ethelbert Miller. 

12:45 pm SEEING OURSELVES IN THE RIVER, IN THE MIRROR, IN THE WORLD: Illustrators and Authors Talk About The Challenge of Creating Images That Bring Books Written by Black Authors Alive. PRESENTERS: Jennifer Lawson, Justin Johnson,  Joy Jones, Keesha Ceran (Moderator) and Sheila Crider

2:00 pm – TRUNKS, SATCHELS AND THE US POSTAL SERVICE: Book Distributors and Store Owners Tell Their Stories About Getting Black Books into the World By Any and All Means Necessary. PRESENTERS Courtland Cox, Paul Coates, Vanessa Williams,  and Kojo Nnamdi (Moderator).

3:30 pm- UNFINISHED BUSINESS, UNTOLD STORIES: A Look Beyond the Immediate Horizon at The Future of Children’s Literature Written by African American Authors. PRESENTERS: Kwame Alexander, Tricia Elam Walker, David Miller, Tiffany Mitchell Patterson, Leroy Nesbitt and Joy Jones (Moderator).

OFFICIAL ONSITE BOOKSELLER: Sankofa: Video Books and Cafe

Authors will sign books throughout the day

This event is curated by award-winning author and public scholar jonetta rose barras in partnership with humanities scholar Bernard Demczuk Ph.D. ,The Black Student Fund, The Institute for African American Writing, Teaching for Change, Social Justice Books, Buck Wild Media, and Lesa Warrick.

Major funding has been provided by HumanitiesDC with additional support from Kerry S. Pearson LLC,  and BusBoys and Poets.

IT'S FREE. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.  for more information write to aachildrenslit2023@gmail.com