Jacqueline Woodson commemorated a decade of brown dreams for a girl in the heart of New York – Essence

Jacqueline Woodson has lived in the hearts and souls of black girls around the world for 10 years. To rejoice a decade of empowering young Black women, the best-selling writer hosted an event in the heart of Manhattan at Symphony Space. The program included live historical reconstructions and musical performances by stars akin to: Lena Waithe, Nicole Ari Parker, Marley Dias, Roksana Gaj, Montego GloverAND Toshi Reagon.

A strong memoir that dives into Woodson’s experiences with race and identity during the era of Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Great Migration, it has touched readers across generations. He has won many awards, including: National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Awardand Newbery’s Honorand was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time.

National Literacy Month is coming to an end and we’re looking forward to Banned Books Week, which is vital now greater than ever. The book has been questioned in recent discussions about banned books attributable to ongoing conversations about promoting critical race theory. In an interview with Woodson 2019 from NPR, tells host Scott Simon“The most dangerous thing you can do as a writer writing books that young people will read is to try to teach them something… You know I write because I have all these questions, not because I know the answers.”

Throughout the program, people screamed with excitement, cried with sympathy, and rejoiced as they heard Woodson and others discuss the life of the book. The energy in the room was palpable.

“I’m really surprised by what number of life-like moments this book had, because I had no idea something like this is able to occur. It reaches people I never thought it could reach. I used to be just blown away by the life it brought. And again, I feel it goes back to how specific it was, that it is sensible now because I’m writing about after I was a young person, but I’m 60 now, so someone in their 60s, 70s, 80s, I can read it and know this story. And someone who’s 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, because you’ll be able to read it and feel the girl or the boy, whatever part they connect with,” Woodson said.

Throughout her profession, Woodson has consistently helped young people, including establishing foundations Baldwin for arta residency supporting writers, composers, and interdisciplinary and visual artists from the Global Majority. Her work continues to remodel culture through her distinct perspective as an artist, scientist, writer, screenwriter and activist, leaving a lasting impact on the community.