After learning what Black Out Tuesday was originally intended to be, I too would like to use this opportunity to boast about some black creators and their work that needs more attention.
These are the three books, two graphic novels and one poetry book, that I will be reading this week.
✊🏾 I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina and illustrated by Stacey Robinson & John Jennings with a foreword by Bryan Stevenson:
When an off-duty officer mistakes a clothes hanger for a gun, Alfonso Jones wakes up in the afterlife guided by fellow victims of police shootings. Meanwhile, Alfonso’s family and friends struggle with their grief and seek justice for Alfonso’s murder.
✊🏾Your Black Friend and Other Strangers by Ben Passmore:
Described as required reading for those seeking to be useful allies in the fight for justice, this collection of culturally charged comics tackles race, gentrification, the prison system, racial micro-aggressions, and more with both humor and relatability.
✊🏾Say Her Name by Zetta Elliot and illustrated Loveis Wise:
In this collection of haikus and poems, Elliot creates a chorus of voices celebrating the creativity, resilience, and courage of Black women and girls while also paying tribute to victims of police brutality as well as the activists championing for the Black Lives Matter cause.
I encourage everyone to check out these books, support a independent bookstore (especially Black-owned ones!!!) and your local libraries. And as always, BLACK LIVES MATTER! And please don’t forget to let your Black joy shine!
I haven’t been able to get the full video but we just celebrated one of our steam locomotives turning 145 by chucking a chocolate cake into her firebox
