It’s Lit!

Liberation Station’s Anchor section introduces a curation of adult titles lovingly paired with children’s titles to spark intergenerational discussion. “I’m excited about what type of conversations those books will open up in the home and around the dinner table because I know they’ve done that for us,” shares Scott-Miller. Here, she offers three pairings for families to dive into together this summer.

Topic: Colorism & Self-Acceptance

For the Adults: Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks

For the kids:  Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o

“Maud Martha is a novel that talks about a 7-year-old dark-skinned African American girl who loves flowers and also is learning to accept herself through the lens of a 1920s family,” says Scott-Miller. Coupled with the children’s book Sulwe, also about a dark-skinned girl struggling with acceptance “and really having an affirming conversation with the narrator of the story to be able to develop more self-esteem and excitement about who she is,” she emphasizes that “we get to have this span of conversation from 1920 all the way up to the late 2000s.”

Topic: Race & Society

For the Adults: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

For the Kids: The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth by Wade Hudson   

“I call it a Black classic,” says Scott-Miller of Invisible Man, which “talks about social and intellectual issues that African Americans faced in the early ’20s.” Her rec for kids is The Talk, “a discussion about the different vantage points from children experiencing race in real time.” For instance, one poignant testimony comes from the son of children’s author Derrick Barnes, who explores “being Black and loving comic books and what’s that like,” she explains.  

Topic: Black Adolescence & Empowerment

For the Adults: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

For the Kids: Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales and True Tales by Virginia Hamilton

“Brown Girl Dreaming is poetry about the Black girl’s experience in adolescence,” shares Scott-Miller. For a powerful dialogue, she suggests pairing it with Her Stories, a collection of tales combining the “innovative fantasy side of folklore” with the empowerment of “Black girlhood leading into Black womanhood.”