Back in 2015, visual artist, OlaRonke Akinmowo wanted to create an art project that empowered and honored Black women’s creativity, scholarship, education, and research. With a background in collage, printmaking, and decorating, Ola’s work brings different pieces together to create something new and unified. With this, she created The Free Black Women’s Library.
The Free Black Women’s Library is a literary social art project featuring traveling installations of over 2,000 books, magazines, and other material written by Black women. The program is simple: come to a library event, join the discussion, donate a book, and choose a book for yourself. Every event takes a different shape by taking on a different space. “Like a collage: poetry, horror, science fiction, romance, comic books, children’s books all written by Black women are being brought together in a way to create a library shape and community space.”
Nervous but excited and curious how the neighborhood would respond, Ola started the library one summer day off a front stoop in BedStuy, Brooklyn with just 100 books. With the forecast possibly showing rain, she remembers her main concern being the safety of her then small collection of books. She reminds us, “Books are precious objects.”
Over the next years, the library has grown and traveled to hundreds of locations around New York City, and outside to Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Each month there is a different theme, book, or writer that compliments the location. For example, this past March, for Women’s History Month, the installation at Weeksville Heritage Center in Crown heights focused on womanism within Black history. When it was at Concord Baptists Church, they focused on themes of humanity, spirituality, and love. Each installation brings new crowds, where everyone is welcomed to hang out all day, making new friends, reading, writing, and trading books.
The main goal is “to build a comfortable and creative space for radical ideas. Deep connections, vulnerability, joy, and pleasure… Visitors can come and find themselves in the space. I want it to feel like an inclusive space. Intergeneration. Always free.” The library has attracted young and old readers, families, and friend groups to visit and follow the program online. With a large collection of children’s books, classics, and contemporary literature, there is something for all interests, ages, perspectives, and reading levels. It’s a sustainable, ever-flowing, and connecting system where each individual’s participation influences the library’s collection.
By focusing on Black female authors, the library highlights the nuances of subjects, genres, and experiences of Black women. These vast distinctions and variety of voices are often disproportionately overlooked in traditional literary discussions. It works to share and give a platform to authors and ideas that may not be as widely recognized, especially in particular genres like fantasy or young adult novels. “The beauty of it is if you are a Black woman who has access to Black women writers it is very affirming to see yourself in art and literature. It’s humanizing.”
By inviting others to share in this empowering and humanizing art and activism, Ola strives to create a more positive world for her daughter (18). Motherhood has kept Ola constantly up, curious, and creating. It’s also one of her reasons for starting the Sister Outsider Relief Grant, a one-time cash grant for single community-working mothers. She states, “I want to make the world softer and kind.”
While recognizing how Black women deal with racism and sexism on an everyday basis, the library provides a space for Black women to express themselves and be seen as more than the archetypes they are too often boxed into. The Free Black Women’s Library asks more from visitors, readers, writers, and traditional institutions by exposing and bringing together the extensive works of Black women. Most importantly allowing them to be seen and be brilliant, imaginative, tough, funny, smarkt, and romantic. Anything one wants to be.
Everyone is invited to join the library community. Ola believes in the strong value of all genders, racers, ethnicities, and backgrounds to open and excite their minds to Black female authors. “It may take you out of your comfort zone and inspire you to think differently.” As an artists, activist, and educator Ola’s work invites and strives to open people’s minds. She advises, “Make sure your reading list is open and diverse. Read different types of stories. Not just stories that are written in this perfect Queen’s English, but slang and country English. And see the world through another woman’s eyes.”
While the COVID Pandemic had stopped the library from traveling and setting up installations, they have transitioned online, but it has been a challenge for a project that thrives on community. The library works best when people can come together with books in their hands, to meet face to face, and create a shared educational space. Now there are limits from internet access, to online devices, and scheduling. But the Free Black Women’s Library is still doing all it can by starting a YouTube channel, Instagram Live streams, and Zoom calls with readings, discussions, and writing prompts.
While they have been keeping people engaged, Ola has looked forward to when everyone can come together again and trade books, ideas, and smiles (even if it is behind a mask.) She will also be working towards some big long-term goals for the future of the library, including getting a vehicle for a bookmobile, creating an app, and establishing a full-time space and resource center.
Follow the Free Black Women’s Libary on Instagram @thefreeblackwomenslibrary and use the link in bio to learn more about how to support the program. Or visit their website here.