Books Unbanned: A Day Celebrating Black Literature

At a time when books, especially those rooted in Black history, storytelling, and thought are being banned across the state of Florida, access to literature feels more urgent than ever. Books carry generational knowledge. They are how we remember, imagine, and discover ourselves. Limiting access to them is not just censorship, it is a threat to community, curiosity, and critical thinking, especially in an age increasingly shaped by AI and digital control.

This gathering is a response.

Join us on Sunday, March 1st for a full day of readings, conversation, and community engagement centered on Black literature and creative practice. Together, we will hold space for stories, scholarship, and dialogue that affirm the power of the written word.

We are proud to partner with Roots Bookstore, a Black-owned independent bookstore in Liberty City that serves as a vital third space for connection, culture, and resistance to book bans. This event is also supported by Greenspace, helping us continue investing in community centered spaces.

12:30 – 1:00 PM
Children’s Book Reading Session: Roots Special Select

1:30 – 2:30 PM

Philo & Lando of Lando Golds: Mouth of Golds Talk
Moderated by Aaron J. Jackson

This conversation moves through the history of golds as told in Mouth Full of Golds by director Lyle Lindgren, a book that traces how gold teeth became part of hip hop culture and Black self expression.

3:00 – 4:00 PM

Collection Plate: Black Mourning in Public Memory

Lecture by Heaven Jones

This lecture introduces Collection Plate as an ethos and evolving practice of communal mourning, a framework for paying homage to those who have transitioned while tending to the living. Drawing from The Harlem Book of the Dead by James Van Der Zee and Passed On: African American Mourning Stories: A Memorial by Karla F.C. Holloway, the session considers how Black communities have preserved dignity in death through image, archive and ritual.

4:30 – 6:00 PM

Shayla Marshall x Photo Talk 305

This lecture explores Rasheedah Phillips’ Black Quantum Futurism in conversation with Shayla Marshall’s installation and photography developed through PhotoWalk305 along 79th Street. Shayla will discuss her process and conceptual framework behind Meet Me at the Source, with photographs from participants highlighting collective perspectives on place, memory and community.

100% of all monetary donations made through Eventbrite will go directly to Roots Bookstore. There will also be a book donation box onsite. All book donations are welcome, and those who donate books by Black authors will receive a small keepsake in appreciation.

The event will conclude at 6:00 PM.

Come read. Come listen. Come build.
Let’s keep our stories alive together!

Info: We begin the day with a special children’s reading curated by Roots Bookstore & Market. This session will feature a thoughtful selection of books by Black authors, centering imagination, identity and cultural pride.

Info: Moderated by Aaron J. Jackson
This conversation moves through the history of golds as told in Mouth Full of Golds by director Lyle Lindgren, a book that traces how gold teeth became part of hip hop culture and Black self expression.
In conversation with his father Lando of Lando Golds, Philo reflects on his own family history and how it intersects with pull out culture and Southern tradition. Together they speak across generations, breaking down the journey from past to present and honoring the craft as both business and bloodline.

Info: This lecture introduces Collection Plate as an ethos and evolving practice of communal mourning, a framework for paying homage to those who have transitioned while tending to the living. Drawing from The Harlem Book of the Dead by James Van Der Zee and Passed On: African American Mourning Stories: A Memorial by Karla F.C. Holloway, the session considers how Black communities have preserved dignity in death through image, archive and ritual.
The talk also honors Jones’s earlier exhibition, Born, Bred, & Sheddin’ the Souf, which examined Black American identity through hair, nails, teeth and the Black family name using grillz, braiding hair, family reunion tees and acrylic nails as vessels of lineage and cultural memory.
In Meet Me at the Source, those same materials evolve into a living altar rooted in Southern Black culture. What once signified self presentation now becomes remembrance. The body becomes archive. Adornment becomes offering.

Info: This lecture engages the work of Rasheedah Phillips and her book Black Quantum Futurism, placing it in conversation with the artist's installation and photography created through PhotoWalk305. The photo walk took place along 79th Street, the neighborhood that inspired the Meet Me at the Source installation.
The session will feature artist Shayla Marshall, who will discuss her process of developing installation based work and the conceptual framework behind Meet Me at the Source. This session will also include showcasing photographs captured by participants during the PhotoWalk305 experience, highlighting collective perspectives on place, memory, and community.

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Host or Publisher Femme Continuum