The new Brownies' book : a love letter to Black families
Publication Information
San Francisco, California : Chronicle Books, [2023]
Physical Description
207 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 29 cm
Summary
"In 1920, as art and writing flourished during the Harlem Renaissance, W. E. B. Du Bois published The Brownies' Book: A Monthly Magazine for Children of the Sun-the first periodical for African American youth, collecting original art, stories, letters, and activities to celebrate their identities and inspire their imaginations and ambitions. Building upon Du Bois's mission, esteemed professor and scholar Karida Brown and celebrated artist Charly Palmer reimagine the groundbreaking publication with The New Brownies Book, gathering the work of more than 60 contemporary Black artists and writers, including Ntozake Shange, Frank X. Walker, Danny Simmons, and Alice Faye Duncan. Created by and for Black families today, this anthology is filled with inspiring essays, poems, photographs, paintings, and short stories reflecting on the joy and depth of the Black experience. Delivering delight to adults and children alike, this powerful celebration of twenty-first century Black culture fulfills the promise of its source material by reminding readers of all ages that Black is brilliant, beautiful, and bold"--
Contents
- Introduction ; The original Brownies Book / Karida L. Brown ; Love letter / Karida L. Brown and Charly Palmer ; The children of the sun / Marcus Anthony Hunter
- Family ties. Kisses make things better (but sometimes they don't) / Zoe Jones ; Time capsules / Laurence Ralph ; Nobody loves the debbil / Charly Palmer ; Playtime: six games / Mekhi Yant ; The Island of Lost Fathers / Bertice Berry ; The Lactose Intolerant Club for Picky Eaters / Waverly Duck ; Flight lessons / Frank X Walker ; For Breanna and other children who love to laugh with the adults in their lives / Courtney J. Patterson-Faye
- Let me count the ways. Sweet bee / Kai Adia ; Little brown boy / Annette Christine Browne ; Little black boy / Lucian B. Watkins ; A love letter for you / Halima Taha ; Empathy / Joy Angela DeGruy ; I don't wanna be Black / KEEF Cross and Shannon Byrd
- Young Langston. Introduction / Karida L. Brown ; Autumn thought / Langston Hughes ; Signs of spring / Langston Hughes ; Fairies / Langston Hughes ; The lament of a vanquished beau / Langston Hughes ; Mister sandman / Langston Hughes ; An April rain song / Langston Hughes ; The gold piece: a play that might be true / Langston Hughes ; In a Mexican city / Langston Hughes ; Winter sweetness / Langston Hughes
- We were kings. A letter to the kid who eventually breaks my world record of "Most bite-sized Snickers eaten by a twelve-year-old in a thirteen minute span while waiting between pickup basketball games at Mellon Park" / Damon Young ; A house for a king / Magana J. Kabugi ; Lil' kings / Frank X Walker ; Give the ball to Lisa / Alice Faye Duncan
- School daze. Historically black colleges and universities / Karida L. Brown ; Outside of Harlem: The Renaissance / Jasmine Mitchell ; Fisk's history / Asante Guzik Bates ; Dear Fisk / Mekhi Yant ; Retrospection / Yolande Du Bois ; The makings of a Fisk woman / Amber Curtis ; A thousand words / Daikerra Sweat
- She'roes. Portraits and biographies / Karida L. Brown and Charly Palmer ; Learning exercise / Chase Malone
- Kin'folk tales ; Anansi the spider: character study / Demetri Burke ; Folk sayings / Briana Gordon
- Living and dying. The truth of us is complicated / Kai Adia ; My mama sick / Ida Harris ; Nine-nights: reclaiming Caribbean bereavement during the pandemic / Alyasah Ali Sewell ; Death leaves a scar, loves leaves memories / Wesley Gordon
- Old woman. By another name / Charly Palmer ; excerpt from I Am an Old Woman / Ntozake Shange
- Coming and going. From / Karida L. Brown ; A leap of faith / Alicia Edwards ; Progress / Mekhi Yant.