The Soulful Chicago Book Fair was recently held at the Woodlawn Community School in Chicago. This was the second book fair of its kind during the year. The most recent book fair was centered around Kwanzaa. Vendors and performers also showed up to share and express culture.
Asadah Kirkland, the founder of The Soulful Chicago Book Fair, took a moment to speak with us.
“The Soulful Chicago Book Fair is an event that started July 16, 2016. It was a big event with over 100 Black writers on 61st Street between Cottage Grove and King Drive. We shut down four blocks; every genre had a block. One was non-fiction, the other was fiction. We also had a block for children’s books. We set up [stages]: one for a community open mic and another where Grammy nominated singer Eric Roberson performed. Soulful Chicago has become a movement and the demand for Black writers is growing. This is an important movement for the Black community because people say we don’t read. They say if you want to hide something from Black people, put it in a book. I know hundreds of Black authors and writers; somebody has to be reading those books. We need to handle our own lives and tell our own stories. We need to have avenues for these writers so they can promote what they do. These are our stories,” Kirkland said.
Take a look at a few pictures from the event below.
