Celebration: Divine Forces: Exploring the Power of the Orishas

Join us for Divine Forces: Exploring the Power of the Orishas, a transformative, all-day cultural gathering celebrating Yoruba spirituality, African diasporic traditions, and the enduring power of divine forces as sources of healing, resistance, and creative inspiration.

Hosted by the African American Center of the San Francisco Public Library, in collaboration with Sistah Scifi and Brother-Story, this immersive event features New York Times bestselling, Hugo- and Nebula Award–winning author , creator of the Legacy of Orisha series.

Anchored by a keynote from acclaimed author and Yoruba Priestess , the program brings together visionary writers, scholars, and cultural workers to explore how the Orishas function as spiritual guides, cultural anchors, and living forces across literature, faith, and community life.

Featured speakers include Sakena Young-Scaggs, , , , and Tomi Adeyemi, with conversations spanning Black diasporic religions, post-colonial traditions, and the resurgence of West African cosmology in contemporary literature—especially young adult fantasy.

, founder of Sistah Scifi, will moderate a special discussion with Adeyemi examining the role of Orishas in modern storytelling and their power to shape imagination, identity, and liberation.

This event celebrates resilience, creativity, and spiritual heritage, inviting readers, writers, and community members to reconnect with ancestral wisdom and envision futures rooted in divine possibility.
Panelists:

• Ayize Jama-Everett ayizejamaeverett.com
• Sakena Young-Scaggs rev-dr-sakena-young-scaggs
• Luisah Teish yeyeluisahteish.com/about-yeye.html
• Tomi Adeyemi tomiadeyemi.com
• Clarence A. Haynes @clarenceahaynes
• Kemi Ashing-Giwa kashinggiwa.com
  

Moderators:

• Isis Asare
• Dr. Stanford Carpenter @stanfordcarpenter

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Host or Publisher Sistah Scifi