Join author Nikkya Hargrove in conversation on her searing and uplifting memoir, Mama: A Queer Black Woman's Story of a Family Lost and Found. In it, Hargrove recounts the events of her life as a young black woman fresh out of college, determined to create the kind of family she never had by adopting her baby brother following the death of her incarcerated mother. Mama is an ode to motherhood and identity, and to finding strength in family and community. Nikkya will be in conversation with Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz, Associate Dean for Teaching, Learning, and Engagement at New York University Division of Libraries.
Nikkya Hargrove is a graduate of Bard College and currently serves as a member of the school’s Board of Governors and chair of the alumni/ae Diversity Committee. A LAMBDA Literary Nonfiction Fellow, she has written about adoption, marriage, motherhood, and the prison system for The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New York Times, Scary Mommy, and Shondaland. She has worked for social impact nonprofits providing support to underserved communities throughout her professional career. She lives in Connecticut with her wife and three children.
Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz is an award-winning librarian, archivist, writer, editor, mother, and resident of Fairfield County in East Norwalk. She is managing editor for Sinister Wisdom: A Lesbian Literary and Art Journal, and Associate Dean for Teaching, Learning, and Engagement at New York University Division of Libraries. She teaches Reference and Instruction to graduate students learning to become librarians and archivists at Pratt School of Information. Her recent publications include Grabbing Tea: Queer Conversations in Identity and Libraries and Grabbing Tea: Queer Conversations in Archives and Practice each published in 2024 by Litwin Books. During the pride events at Westport and Norwalk, find Shawn on a blanket giving away new queer fiction or find her writings at: https://shawntasmithcruz.com
