What we're all about

The OMDML is my passion project, conceived during the summer of 2017 in Brooklyn, NY. Inspired by The Free Black Women’s Library, founded by Queen Ola which aims to spread the brilliant works of black female authors in uniquely curated venues within the community.

My passion for reading actually began as a passion for writing in my youth. As a young girl I watched my mother write constantly: scriptures, notes, thoughts, prayers. I wanted to know why she wrote, what power did it hold. How did it protect and sooth her? So I picked up a pen and my first journal and poured out my young soul. Writing became a sacred ritual, it cleansed and helped shift. This love for writing eventually led to a love for reading and soon blossomed a gorgeous union of the two. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my maternal grandmother was an avid reader and writer as well. I began to receive books in the mail from her and we developed a pen pal relationship. In that special black woman way, my grandmother nurtured, cultivated and protected this relationship, encouraging me to devour books of all kinds, to write with passion and above all else, honesty. I grew up and grandma passed on. Overtime I lost my fervor for reading and writing. But the thing about ancestral traits is…they are always with you. This generational gift birthed the Our Mothers’ Daughters Mobile Library.

As mentioned, this project was inspired by a similar one: The Free Black Women’s Library. I don’t remember how I heard about TFBWL but I went to check it out one summer day, only casually interested. I was not prepared for a revolution of thought. The energy of the space caught me off guard. I left with 3 books and read them all within two weeks. My life changed. From the summer of 2017 to the summer of 2018 I read one book per week, reading 52 books in a year all authored by people of color and the greater part of 52 authored by black women.

These black women mothered, sistered and friended me. They birthed in me a new appetite, a new insatiable hunger for self discovery and self love. I rediscovered the power of literacy. Realizing the undeniable power of reading also forced me to confront something else. If I know how powerful reading is, am I not responsible for ensuring what I ingest intellectually through reading is healthy, promotes my well being as a black woman, provides teaching, guidance and relief for my black woman weathered soul? So, here came my mission. Go through my book collection and remove works that prop up the patriarchy, remove works that endorse colonization, cultural appropriation, and general oppression. As you can maybe imagine, my shelves were quite lean thereafter. I began to seek out the works of people of color, to rebuild a collection of literary works by people who reflect the people in me. As my collection grew I gave books as gifts, loaned them out, began a book club at work. A fire was raging in me and each book I read or re-read added fuel to the flames. Reading gave me a new tongue, a language to articulate thoughts and experiences as a black woman that I could not express before because I simply did not have the words. This experience beat on my heart like a drum and set me on a path back to my truest self. 

The goal of the OMDML is to continue beating that drum, forging the hard path back to our truest selves through literature. By fostering community based access to the brilliant literary works of women, men, and other people of color, the OMDML hopes to share literature as a transformative power, able to reform and usher in a personal revolution of thought and being. I was intentional about decolonizing my bookshelf and with it, my mind. I want to share this journey with others, to ensure the works of people of color are exposed to people of color, that we increase access to this powerful resource. 

The Our Mothers’ Daughters Mobile Library started with 60 books purchased from street vendors in Brooklyn and Harlem, received as gifts from friends and loved ones and traded at TFBWML. The library will work like a co-op: bring a book, take a book, and will function as a pop up so locations will vary but will all be in under-served communities in and around Detroit, Mi. Understanding that many may not have access to books, especially books authored by people of color, I do anticipate giving books away as well. 

So.. that’s the story of the OMDML. Here is where you come in. If you’d like to support, consider the following: donate books authored by people of color, offer your space as a venue, give monetary contributions for the purpose of purchasing additional literature and/or securing venues, share OMDML events with friends and family, come to a library pop up, let me know about your favorite books authored by people of color so I can add them to our growing collection of brilliant literary works. Thank you!