Walking and Talking with Harriet Tubman – Saturday, September 13!

Walking and Talking with Harriet Tubman Features Three Fabulous Events!

First UP! – Walking and Talking with Harriet Tubman will feature a hip hop-style book reading and book-sigining for Caroline Brewer’s new book, Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature. It will take place at 11 a.m. at the HARRIET TUBMAN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD VISITORS CENTER INC, 4068 Golden Hill Road Church Creek, MD 21622. Phone: 410-221-2290.

Light refreshments will be provided.

NEXT! In the spirit of Harriet’s many walks for freedom, the book signing will be followed by a walk through Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, led by the amazing Linda Harris and David Cole, who will provide musical storytelling, 12 noon-1 p.m.  Harris is Director of Events and Programming at The Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center in Cambridge, MD.

Pick up lunch on your own at restaurants in and around U.S. 50 Ocean Gateway Highway.

FINAL! Plant your feet on sacred ground. We’ll close the day with a reception, from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m., at Mount Pleasant Acres Farms, hosted by The Aunties, located at 22239 Marsh Creek Road, Preston, MD 21655. The Aunties will provide a tour of organic farms`on the land Harriet’s parents last resided on and where freedom-seekers met with Harriet to plot their moves on the Underground Railroad. The Aunties provide a brief lecture, along with planting and harvesting opportunities. Because of their remarkable and creative stewardship of the land, The Aunties were recently featured on Good Morning America.

All activities are family-friendly and we require an RSVP for the day at the Eventbrite link below.

Taking Nature Black Came Back Strong, as We Said Their Names!

It’s been three years since we were able to gather in person for a Nature Forward Taking Nature Black Conference, so this year was bound to be special, extra-special! And it was. With two virtual days, and two in person days, I gathered with hundreds of environmentalists from around the region to share in uplifting our stories of Belonging – the conference’s theme.

I was grateful to provide a welcome on Friday and moderate the panel, Belonging: What Healing and Wholeness Might Look Like. I also was honored to give a keynote Thursday evening titled: The Environment: A Love Story and a Reason to Say Their Names. My speech was peppered with spoken word, traditional poems, and snippets of songs. An opening excerpt laid the foundation for the connection between what’s traditionally thought of as the environment and what scientists, Indigenous people and healers have come to understand is the real environment — all of us, humans, plants, animals, insects, waterways, air, and land. We’re all elements of nature and the environment, and, as such, and how we treat each other morally manifests materially, so we’d be wise to treat nature, which includes us, imperially, serially.

And this is where Say Their Names comes in. Say Their Names, on its face, is about 7-year-old Aliya’s quest to create a love-inspired movement in response to the George Floyd murder and protests. And with that, we’re surely blessed, the child met the test. Yet with a closer look, I must confess. Aliya reveals the 5 things we need to change the game not only to save lives from police and racial violence. She gives us the blueprint to save lives in the so-called natural world and helps us understand, like the scientists, how they/we are inextricably tied.

Aliya’s Blueprint includes these 5 Elements:

  1. Recognize that we’re in a love story – Give Mother Nature the glory.
  2. Gather our gifts – such as courage, hope, truth, and let it be swift. Gather our gifts of friends, family, community. Peace, grace, and unity.
  3. Tap into the one super-power that can change the game at any hour – LOVE.
  4. Become peerless when it comes to being fearless.
  5. Fight – All day, all night, harder and smarter until we get it right

I’ve created an entire professional development training and strategic campaigns training that delve deeply into how we can use the blueprint in Say Their Names to accelerate victories in campaigns for social, environmental, and climate justice. Email: caroline@carolinebrewerbooks.com for details. 

Photo: That’s me at the Conference with U.S. Forest Service Sponsor Beattra Wilson, in the middle, and Singer, Storyteller, and Cultural Historian Karen Wilson Ama-‘Echefu, who spoke (and sang a bit) on the Belonging panel and provided outstanding support during my book signing.

Nature-wise – Reading, Writing, Probing And Playing In The Outdoor Classroom

INTRODUCING Nature-Wise! Well, sort of.

Nature-Wise kicked off virtually during the spring of 2022 with my friends at the Maryland Association of Environmental and Outdoor Education. We held our first in-person training in early February in Ocean City. I’m now expanding the training nationally with Conservation Nation on March 29 virtually. This first session with CN is for DC Public Schools teachers only and all are FREE to teachers. Click here to register.

But wait! I’m inviting schools and youth organizations across the country to book trainings for the spring, summer and fall 2023 – right now.  Simply Email: caroline@carolinebrewerbooks.com for more information.

What is Nature-wise? Nature-wise is a professional development training for educators and youth leaders designed to help children and teens understand and practice, on creative levels, that human beings are included in the definition of the environment. We, too, are nature and from our earliest days, we practice literacy. And that opens a world of wondrous possibilities and opportunities to explore all the literacies — reading, writing, speaking, seeing, hearing, visual arts, music, dance, games, and so many more – as we explore the natural world, our place in it, and our power to be climate activists and better protect all living things.

Teachers will enjoy opportunities to introduce students to children’s literature on the environment; Help students tap into the power of poetry to articulate feelings and observations about the environment; Bring local, national, and global environmental champions into students’ lives through picture books and online resources; Lead students on fascinating nature exploration journeys outdoors; Help students evaluate wildlife (colors, shapes, patterns, textures, and behaviors) in their school and home neighborhoods and create a neighborhood nature encyclopedia — and have fun!

Teachers will have opportunities to address fears about being outside and about various forms of wildlife; Create and play vocabulary games based on books and other literature; Help students write class and individual letters to authors and environmental champions; Help students create interview questions for environmental champions and authors; Help students create artwork inspired by stories and the work of environmental champions.

Email: caroline@carolinebrewerbooks.com for more information about how to bring Nature-Wise to your school or organization.

WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NATURE-WISE!
Dear Caroline

Just a note to thank you for your workshop last week. I had the most wonderful time and got so many great ideas. I’m a new-ish teacher (switched from journalism mid-career) and am always looking for ways to better my craft. Thanks to your ideas, I’m now using rhythmic poems every day and putting lyrics up on the board for my learners to read. They love it! I’m also halfway through your HTHS manual and am putting more of those ideas into practice. Thank you so much for doing what you do and for inspiring so many of us. It is helping countless numbers of children! All the best.

Celebrating MLK Day with Rarely Seen Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech to Philly Students

On the 40th Anniversary of the MLK Jr. Holiday, I am delighted to share RARELY seen footage of Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking to students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967. There, he delivered his powerful, thoughtful, heartfelt speech, “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?” I strongly urge you to view in its entirety. Below are a few excerpts.

“Number 1 in your life’s blueprint should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth, and your own somebodiness. Don’t allow anybody to make you feel that you are nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth. And always feel that your life has ultimate significance.”  — Martin Luther King, Jr.

CLICK HERE to watch the entire video. Thanks to Beacon Press and the Philadelphia School District for making this video available. Photo credit to Stephen F. Somerstein—Getty Images.

 

Midwest Stop – Say Their Names – Four Events in Three Days!

WE’RE CELEBRATING THE LAUNCH OF SAY THEIR NAMES
and DARIUS DANIELS: GAME ON!
IN THE MIDWEST
At three Fort Wayne, Indiana locations, November 25, 26, and 27 — Join Us!
FRIDAY, NOV. 25 – 4-6 pm – Family Event- Invitation-Only Event – Contact Joanne or Liz for details.
SATURDAY, NOV. 26 – 11 am – 12 noon —Brief talk and autograph session for Say Their Names and Darius Daniels: Game On!

BIPOC Business Weekend, sponsored by Clydia Early.
3402 Fairfield Ave, Fort Wayne, IN 46807-1823

SATURDAY, NOV. 26 – 2 pm – 5 pm —Bring the children for an inter-active musical presentation of
Say Their Names and Darius Daniels: Game On!, plus powerful writing activity, Q & A, and autographing session. Refreshments will be available for purchase during our break.

BIPOC Business Weekend
3402 Fairfield Ave, Fort Wayne, IN 46807-1823

PLEASE ORDER YOUR BOOKS IN ADVANCE TODAYfrom websites or stores below or Amazon.

EMAIL poadec.comm@gmail.com for more details on Saturday’s events – Sponsored by the People of African Descent Elders Council

SUNDAY, NOV. 27 – 10:30 am – UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, 5310 Old Mill Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46807 – Delivering the morning’s sermon: Why We Say Their Names, followed by Q and A, and book-signing.

READ The Washington Post’s feature story here!

Watch television news coverage of

Say Their Names here!

Photo courtesy of MF Photography

SAY THEIR NAMES DMV LAUNCH EVENTS NOV. 5, 2022

WE’RE CELEBRATING THE LAUNCH OF SAY THEIR NAMES IN THE DMV
At two locations, November 5 — Join US!
1 pm – 2 pm — Say Their Names * Potter’s House Cafe/Bookstore — I’ll do an inter-active, musical reading
of Say Their Names, Q & A, and autograph books. 
Potter’s House, www.pottershousedc.org, 1658 Columbia Road NW WASHINGTON, DC, 20009
5 pm – 6 pm – Say Their Names * Mahogany Books
I’ll do an inter-active, musical reading of Say Their Names, Q & A, and autograph books.
1231 Good Hope Rd., S.E. Washington, DC 20020 * Phone: 1 (844) 279-6239
Watch new coverage of Say Their Names here!

Black Children’s Stories Matter: The Evolution of Children’s Literature

Join Creative Writing Coach and Literary Consultant Marita Golden for “Creative Conversations with Marita” on June 12 at noon on Facebook Live. Caroline Brewer, author of “Darius Daniels: Game On!” and “Barack Obama A Hip Hop Tale of a King’s Dream,” and author Leslie C. Youngblood will be featured.
We’ll discuss the growing popularity of narratives for young people that focus on the lives of Black children.

Darius Daniels Game On! Book Tasting Party Saturday, February 1

 

You asked for it and here it is! The DC Darius Daniels: Game On! Book Tasting Party, featuring the Music and Poetry of a One-of-a-Kind Novel, Saturday, February 1.

Features: Inter-active singing, dancing, rapping, clapping, and toe-tapping to songs and raps straight out of the novel; Reading from the book and background on chosen excerpts; Q and A, with brief discussion about how the book is one-of-a-kind (more than 10 forms of poetry) and a handheld revolution, plus a trivia game; Hors d’ourves and dessert-tasting of food from and inspired by the novel!

Purchase Books & Have them Autographed
Vocalist Karen Wilson-Ama’Echefu & Drummer Angel Bethea will get the party started.

NOTE: Two programs on this day (Choose One)
12 noon – 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
RSVPs a must * Seating is limited! * Email me from the Contact Me page for an invitation and to learn how you can bring a Book Tasting Party to your school, library, or community. This party kicks off our international tour! We’d love for you to be a part of it!

Author Night

The University Club of Washington, D.C. invites you to

The 30th Annual Meet the
Author Night & Book Fair

Wednesday, December 4, 2019  •  5:30-8:00 p.m.
The University Club of Washington, DC
1135 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036

Author Caroline Brewer

Meet Caroline Brewer and dozens of other talented authors at this amazing event. You’ll find great gifts for book lovers of all ages and get a jump on your holiday shopping. 

Free and Open to the Public

For a complete list of authors attending, click here.