SCPL Reads: Emancipation Day

For more than four centuries, enslaved people across the Americas, from the United States and the Caribbean to Brazil, fought any way they could to gain their freedom. For the first time, their dramatic stories are gathered in one sweeping narrative that offers a message of inspiration in our own time.

When 24-year-old Kareela discovers she's pregnant, her struggle with her identity as a half-Black, half-white person intensifies. Her mother, Evelyn, fled to Canada during the Jamaican exodus of the 1980s, only to face the harsh reality of racial suspicion. After her son's murder by police, Evelyn's mother-in-law, Violet, moves in, offering Kareela a connection to her Jamaican roots. Despite Violet's support, the family's traumas create a web of secrets. Now, as Kareela grapples with fear and uncertainty about her future, she must confront her family's past and find her place in the world.

Inspired by the essays of James Baldwin, in which the personal becomes the gateway to larger ideas, Ian Williams explores such things as the unmistakable moment when a child realizes they are Black; the ten characteristics of institutional whiteness; how friendship forms a bulwark against being a target of racism; the meaning and uses of a Black person's smile; and blame culture--or how do we make meaningful change when no one feels responsible for the systemic structures of the past.

To complete her Calling—a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their powers—and save her family’s magic, Voya Thomas must kill her first love, which is no easy task since she’ll have to find the perfect guy—and fast.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s work as a social justice advocate comes to life in a graphic novel about Monk Travers, a high school basketball player who completes a report on the NBA basketball star, awakening a passion for social justice of his own.

While visiting her father who lives in Jamaica, eighteen-year-old Tilla faces a storm of dark secrets that threaten to unravel her own life, while an actual storm, Hurricane Gustav, threatens the lives of those she loves.

Born to parents who fled slavery and the Trail of Tears, young Afro Indigenous girl Magnolia Flower sets off on a journey in her quest to be free and connect with others, proving how brave one can be when leading with one's heart.

The New York Times best-selling author and CNN analyst presents this picture book in which he pays tribute to the roots that help shape young children into whoever they want to be.

A fresh and fearless collection of short fiction, poetry and graphic fiction for today's middle-grade readers. In this timely, thought-provoking, funny and heartbreaking collection, ten acclaimed BIPOC authors from across Canada explore the theme and concept of home. From awkward family dinners, to life on the rez, to moving to a new town, each of these stories provides a unique perspective on the theme of belonging through characters tasked with navigating and finding their place in this world.