If you’ve ever believed the brutal racism of Reconstruction-era U.S. was limited to the South, Kaitlyn Greenidge’s second novel will disabuse you of that notion with brutal conviction. Libertie follows Libertie Sampson, a free-born young Black woman in Brooklyn who grew up under the shadow of her physician mother—a character based on Susan Smith McKinney Steward, the first Black woman to earn a medical degree in New York. Motivated by a passion for writing and a strong desire to take ownership of her life, Libertie defies her mother’s expectations and goes away to study literature in college, before eventually moving to Haiti with a man who wants to marry her. What she discovers, though, is that freedom is a nuanced idea that can be limited in many ways within her own community, which she experiences firsthand while navigating colorism, classism and sexism. Libertie is a stirring and powerful piece of historical fiction exploring themes that still resonate today.
Buy Now: Libertie on Bookshop | Amazon
- Zero-COVID Protests in China Have Rattled Global Markets
- Column: Diversity Initiatives Are Failing the U.S. Muslim Community
- Why European Countries Are Giving Teens Free Money To Spend on Books, Music, and Theater
- Republican Skepticism of Trump Has Never Been Higher
- Column: The U.S. Prison System Doesn't Value True Justice
- How Green Is the Qatar World Cup’s Outdoor AC?
- 16 Funny and Whimsical White Elephant Gifts Under $25
- The 5 Best New TV Shows Our Critic Watched in November 2022
