BOOK LAUNCH: We Now Belong to Ourselves w/ Arianne Edmonds

WHO & WHAT: Join Rep Club for a discussion on with author Arianne Edmonds & Amber J. Phillips

WHEN: Doors at 6:30pm, event promptly at 7pm.

WHERE: Reparations Club, 3054 S. Victoria Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90016

HOW:

TICKET w/ BOOK: This ticket guarantees a seat including a signed book available for pick up at the event.

FREE RSVP (No Book Included): This Free RSVP DOES NOT include a copy of the book and entry is based strictly on capacity at the door. Books may be available for purchase in-store.

SIGNED BOOK ONLY: Can't make it IRL but still want a signed copy? Order directly from our site!

Please email us at cXVlc3Rpb25zIHwgcmVwYXJhdGlvbnMgISBjbHVi if you have any additional needs, questions, or accessibility concerns.

About the Book:

WEAVING TOGETHER POETRY, PERSONAL NARRATIVE, AND NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN DOCUMENTS FROM THE JEFFERSON LEWIS EDMONDS' FAMILY ARCHIVE, ARIANNE EDMONDS PROVIDES A WIDE-RANGING LOOK AT HOW THE BLACK PRESS OF THE LATE NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES DEFINED BLACK CITIZENSHIP AFTER RECONSTRUCTION, FOSTERED NETWORKS OF RESISTANCE, AND SET IN MOTION CRITICAL SOCIAL JUSTICE NARRATIVES THAT ARE STILL RELEVANT TODAY.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the Black press provided a blueprint to help Black Americans transition from slavery and find opportunities to advance and define African American citizenship. Among the vanguard of the Black press was Jefferson Lewis Edmonds, founder and editor of The Liberator newspaper. His Los Angeles-based newspaper championed for women's rights, land and business ownership, education, and civic engagement, while condemning lynchings and other violent acts against African Americans. It encouraged readers to move westward and build new communities, and it printed stories about weddings and graduations as a testament to the lives and moments not chronicled in the White-owned press.

Edmonds took this fierce perspective in his career as a journalist, for he himself was born into slavery and dedicated his life to creating pathways of liberation for those who came after him. Across the pages of his newspaper, Edmonds painted a different perspective on Black life in America and championed for his community--from highlighting the important work of his contemporaries, including Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, to helping local readers find love in the personal ads section. The Liberator, along with a chorus of Black newspapers at the turn of the century, educated an entire generation on how to guard their rights and take claim of their new American citizenship.

Written by Jefferson Lewis Edmonds' great-great granddaughter, We Now Belong to Ourselves chronicles how Edmonds and other pioneering Black publishers documented the shifting tides in the advancement of Black liberation. Arianne Edmonds argues that the Black press was central in transforming Black Americans' communication patterns, constructing national resistance networks, and defining Black citizenship after Reconstruction--a vision, mission, and spirit that persists today through Black online social movements. Weaving together poetry, personal narrative, newspaper clips, and documents from the Edmonds family archive, We Now Belong to Ourselves illustrates how Edmonds used his platform to center Black joy, Black triumph, and radical Black acceptance.

Arianne Edmonds is a 5th generation Angeleno, archivist, civic leader, and founder of the J.L. Edmonds Project, an initiative dedicated to preserving the history and culture of the Black American West. She has curated and presented her research about Black history, memory, and legacy at several cultural institutions around the US. Her family archives stretch back to the 1850s and her story as the keeper of her ancestral records can be found in The New York Times 1619 Project, The Root, and LA Weekly. She is currently a Senior Civic Media Fellow at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism funded by the MacArthur Foundation and a Commissioner for the Los Angeles Public Library.

Amber J. Phillips is a storyteller, filmmaker, and creative director. She creates world-building narratives using warm visuals and vulnerable performances through her lens of being a fat Black queer femme auntie from the Midwest. Amber is devoted to using radical Black queer imagination to create stories, art, culture, and community.

Amber released her first short film, Abundance about the limitations and radical possibilities of identity. Abundance was most recently a 2021 BlackStar Film Festival selection and won the audience award for Best Short Narrative. Currently, her writings on Black queer life, culture, and gender can be found on Refinery29’s Unbothered, ESSENCE, and as a staple on her Instagram.

Refund Policy At Rep Club, we are committed to providing a valuable experience for all attendees. However, we understand sometimes plans change. Below is our refund policy for ticket purchases:

Refund Eligibility Requests for refunds must be made no later than 14 calendar days prior to the event date via Eventbrite only.

- After this deadline, no refunds will be issued, except under extraordinary circumstances (see "Force Majeure" below).

- Refunds will only be issued to the original purchaser via the original method of payment (i.e. Eventbrite).

Non-Refundable Items Processing fees and service charges are non-refundable, unless the event is canceled by the organizer (i.e. Rep Club).

Event Cancellation or Rescheduling

- If the event is canceled by the organizer, a full refund will be issued to all ticket holders, including any fees paid.

- If the event is rescheduled, your ticket will automatically be valid for the new date. If you are unable to attend the rescheduled date, a refund request can be made within 7 calendar days of the rescheduling notice.

No-Show Policy If you do not attend the event and have not contacted us by the refund deadline, unfortunately no refund will be issued.

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