The author of Black Cherokee chats with Alicia Cox Thomson.
Attend a live reading and conversation with author Antonio Michael Downing, who discusses his new book, Black Cherokee.
The 45-minute conversation is followed by 15 minutes of questions and answers. Check out the HPL catalogue to borrow the book before the event.
On the rain-swollen banks of the River Etsi in South Carolina, Ophelia Blue Rivers — six years old in 1992 — catches frogs and stretches to reach the swaying sunflowers. She’s an orphan raised in a rustic cabin by her Grandma Blue, a descendent of the Black Cherokee Freedmen. Caught in deep currents of history that she doesn’t understand, she is, as her grandma says: “half Black, half Cherokee, and all mixed up.” While Ophelia may not always understand where she came from, there’s no mistaking where she’d rather be: caught in the warmth of Grandma Blue’s cabin, listening to bedtime Cherokee legends as collard greens hiss in the frying pan. But one day, a tall stranger with a black denim jacket and a charming smile appears, and his arrival shatters Ophelia’s world. She finds herself whisked away from all she knows to live with her Auntie Oba, the boisterous woman she had only met in rumours. So begins Ophelia’s spirited, at times harrowing, search for home and family—a journey that takes her from a majority-white high school to the inner sanctum of a Black evangelical church to the throbbing dance floors of underground Southern clubs and to a final, devastating encounter with the scion of a wealthy, white family. She must ask herself: What does it mean to belong when the terms of that belonging come at such a high price?
Antonio Michael Downing is the author of the acclaimed memoir Saga Boy and children’s book, Stars in My Crown. Antonio Michael is the current host of the CBC Radio program The Next Chapter, where he discusses books with authors and columnists. He spends his time writing books, singing songs and trying to make his grandma proud. Black Cherokee is his debut novel.
Alicia Cox Thomson has 20 years of experience as an editor, writer, and content producer for some of Canada's biggest lifestyle brands. Today, you can find her writing about culture, diversity and the arts for Chatelaine, Best Health, CBC Radio, Toronto Star, and more.
AGE GROUP: | Adults (18+) |
EVENT TYPE: | Books and Writing |
TAGS: | Literature | Books | Black History Month | Author Visit | Author Events |
The first Hamilton Public Library building opened on September 16, 1890 by the Earl and Countess of Aberdeen on the north side of Main Street West. In 1913, a new main library opened. This building was replaced in 1980 by Central Library, at the current location on York Boulevard.
In 2010, Central Library re-opened after approximately 18 months of renovations. Central Library opened with a newly revitalized first floor, which includes a Community Living Room that takes advantage of natural light. The Ontario Library Association honoured Central in 2012 with an Architectural and Design Transformation award.
