The 2011Austin African American Book Festival will feature education motivational speaker Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu and New York Times bestselling author Sister Souljah. This year’s theme is Deliberate & Unafraid: Black Literary Voices.
The annual event has expanded this year to include book signings and discussions for Friday, June 24, and Saturday, June 25. The event will take place at the Carver Branch Library and the Carver Museum and Cultural Center
EVENT OVERVIEW
The Austin African American Book Festival works to promote empowerment through literature. The event is made possible through a collaboration of community partnerships.
JAWANZA KUNJUFU
Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu is the author of 32 books including national best sellers, Reducing the Black Male Drop Out Rate, 200 Plus Educational Strategies to Teach Children of Color, and his latest title, Understanding Black Male Learning Styles . Dr. Kunjufu has been featured in Ebony and Essence Magazine , and has been a guest on BET and Oprah .
Dr. Kunjufu will speak Friday, June 24, in the Boyd Vance Theater at the Carver Museum and Cultural Center.He will address parents, educators, and community activists at 10 a.m.
HOSTED BY AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN & BOYS HARVEST FOUNDATION, INC.
Dr. Kunjufu will follow this presentation with a special session for youth starting at 11:45 a.m.
HOSTED BY TOP TEENS OF AMERICA, CAPITAL CITY CHAPTER
LUNCH PROVIDED BY THE LINKS, TOWN LAKE CHAPTER
Read more about Dr. Kunjufu »
SISTER SOULJAH
New York Times bestselling author Sister Souljah will headline the Saturday events. Sister Souljah, a graduate of Rutgers University, is the author of four national bestsellers, The Coldest Winter Ever, Midnight; A Gangster Love Story, Midnight and The Meaning of Love, and No Disrespect. She has appeared on Oprah, Larry King Live, and the cover of Newsweek Magazine.
Sister Souljah will speak and sign her work Saturday, June 25, at 1:30 p.m. in the Boyd Vance Theater at the Carver Museum and Cultural Center.
Read more about Sister Souljah »
SHIRLEY SPRINKLES
In her book, From Dunbar to Destiny: One Woman’s Journey Through Desegregation and Beyond, Shirley nostalgically relives a time when people of color wrestled their identity and their dignity from a callous and largely indifferent Jim Crow system. Shirley credits the positive outcomes of her life to the solid foundation she acquired from strong family values, and a caring community of teachers, administrators and friends in a school called “Dunbar” where the principal, Morgan Maxwell, constantly admonished her to: “Be the best!” In an epic journey from her humble Texas birthplace, through
ormative years in Tucson, to a dazzling life of work, marriage and family life in the Los Angeles area, and, ultimately, a return to Texas, Shirley leads the reader on a fascinating life-safari characterized by unexpected twists and turns.
Ms. Sprinkles will speak and sign her work Saturday, June 25, at 10:00 a.m. at the Carver Library.
HOSTED BY THE DOUGLASS CLUB
Read more about Ms. Sprinkles »
DR. TIFFANY GILL
University of Texas professor, Dr. Tiffany Gill won the Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Prize for her book, Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women’s Activism in the Beauty Industry. Dr. Gill will discuss and sign her work, at the Carver Library, Saturday, June 25, at 10:30 a.m.
HOSTED BY THE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWROK OF AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAGUE
Read more about Dr. Gill »
DR. MOE ANDERSON
Dr. Monica "Moe" Anderson, is a dentist, motivational speaker and a bestselling author. She is the founder of Austin’s Black Newcomers Association, an initiative to help new residents become aware of community resources and opportunities for community service. She has written novels, I Stand Accused, When A Sistah’s Fed Up, and her latest book, Sinphony. Dr. Moe will discuss and sign her work, at the Carver Library, Saturday, June 25, at 11:30 a.m.
HOSTED BY NATIONAL BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION
Read more about Dr. Moe »
ROSALYN STORY
Rosalyn Story will sign and read from her novel, Wading Home. An Essence Book Club selection, Wading Home is a post-Katrina novel that captures the full scope of the storm’s impact on the city and the people within it. Story will read and sign at the Carver Library, Saturday, June 25 at 12:30 p.m.
HOSTED BY NATIONAL SORORITY OF PHI DELTA KAPPA, DELTA BETA CHAPTER
Read more about Rosalyn Story »
EVELYN PALFREY
Local writer Evelyn Palfrey will read and discuss her latest novel, Going Home. Palfrey’s novel takes place in Austin, and also has a Katrina connection. Palfrey will read and discuss her work at the Carver Library, Saturday, June 25, at 12:30 p.m.
HOSTED BY NATIONAL SORORITY OF PHI DELTA KAPPA, DELTA BETA CHAPTER
Read more about Ms. Palfrey »
FREDERICK WILLIAMS & D.L. GRANT
Frederick Williams is a former adjuct professor of African American Studies and Political Science at UT San Antonio.
He is the managing editor of the recently published anthology, The Color of Strength: Embracing the Passion of our Culture, for which he recently received a 'Man of the Year Award' from San Antonio Magazine.
He is the managing editor of the recently published anthology, The Color of Strength: Embracing the Passion of our Culture, for which he recently received a 'Man of the Year Award' from San Antonio Magazine.
D.L. Grant Jr. is the assistant branch manager of San Antonio's Carver Branch Library. He is a doctoral student in Library and Information Sciences. Mr. Grant is a contributor to The Color of Strength" anthology. Both will read, discuss, and sign their work at the Carver Library, Saturday, June 25 at 2:30 p.m.
FEATURED AUTHOR'S BOOKS
Understanding Black Male Learning Styles delineates how black males learn differently from other students and how to most effectively reach them both inside and outside the classroom.
This and many of Dr. Kunjufu's titles will be available at the Book Festival at discounted prices.
This and many of Dr. Kunjufu's titles will be available at the Book Festival at discounted prices.
Midnight and The Meaning of Love is an adventure about deep love and the lengths that people across the world will go to for it. When Midnight, a devout Muslim, takes sixteen-year-old Akemi from Japan as his wife, they look forward to building a life together, but their marriage is interrupted when Akemi is kidnapped and taken back to Japan by her own father.
Midnight, a Ninjutsu-trained ninja warrior, travels the globe facing temptations and dangers he never could have imagined to reclaim the woman he loves.
Midnight, a Ninjutsu-trained ninja warrior, travels the globe facing temptations and dangers he never could have imagined to reclaim the woman he loves.
Souljah's best selling work The Coldest Winter Ever and other novels can be purchased at the book festival