Skip to main content
close
Font size options
Increase or decrease the font size for this website by clicking on the 'A's.
Contrast options
Choose a color combination to give the most comfortable contrast.
Image for event: African American Book Club

African American Book Club

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

2025-06-03 19:00:00 2025-06-03 20:00:00 America/New_York African American Book Club Join us for a discussion of How to say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair. Marilyn J. Praisner Library -

Tuesday, June 03
7:00pm - 8:00pm

Add to Calendar 2025-06-03 19:00:00 2025-06-03 20:00:00 America/New_York African American Book Club Join us for a discussion of How to say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair. Marilyn J. Praisner Library -

Join us for a discussion of How to say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair.

How to Say Babylon is avilable for pickup at Marilyn J. Praisner Library and available as an ebook and audiobook on Libby.

Summary:

Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair's father, a volatile reggae musician and militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, became obsessed with her purity, in particular, with the threat of what Rastas call Babylon, the immoral and corrupting influences of the Western world outside their home. He worried that womanhood would make Safiya and her sisters morally weak and impure, and believed a woman's highest virtue was her obedience. In an effort to keep Babylon outside the gate, he forbade almost everything. In place of pants, the women in her family were made to wear long skirts and dresses to cover their arms and legs, head wraps to cover their hair, no make-up, no jewelry, no opinions, no friends. Safiya's mother, while loyal to her father, nonetheless gave Safiya and her siblings the gift of books, including poetry, to which Safiya latched on for dear life. And as Safiya watched her mother struggle voicelessly for years under housework and the rigidity of her father's beliefs, she increasingly used her education as a sharp tool with which to find her voice and break free. Inevitably, with her rebellion comes clashes with her father, whose rage and paranoia explodes in increasing violence. As Safiya's voice grows, lyrically and poetically, a collision course is set between them. How to Say Babylon is Sinclair's reckoning with the culture that initially nourished but ultimately sought to silence her; it is her reckoning with patriarchy and tradition, and the legacy of colonialism in Jamaica. Rich in lyricism and language only a poet could evoke, How to Say Babylon is both a universal story of a woman finding her own power and a unique glimpse into a rarefied world we may know how to name, Rastafari, but one we know little about.

Questions about this program? Contact the branch 240-773-9460

Don't have a card right now?  No worries!  Find out how to Get a Library Card.

Accommodation Requests

People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing should request English-language captioning or sign-language interpretation at least five days before the library-sponsored program they plan to attend. Contact the Assistant Facilities and Accessibility Program Manager at 240-777-0002 with all other accommodation requests.

cm 1.1 01/03/2023

AGE GROUP: | Older Adults | Adult |

EVENT TYPE: | Lectures and Discussions |

TAGS: | Indoor Program |

Marilyn J. Praisner Library

Phone: 240-773-9460

Hours
Mon, May 05 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Tue, May 06 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Wed, May 07 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Thu, May 08 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Fri, May 09 10:00AM to 6:00PM
Sat, May 10 10:00AM to 6:00PM
Sun, May 11 10:00AM to 6:00PM

Upcoming Events

Cancelled
Tue, May 06, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Wed, May 07, 3:00pm - 4:00pm

Cancelled
Wed, May 07, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Mon, May 12, 6:30pm - 8:00pm

Cancelled
Tue, May 13, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Cancelled
Wed, May 14, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Fri, May 16, 4:30pm - 5:30pm

Tue, May 20, 5:00pm - 6:00pm

Wed, May 21, 3:00pm - 4:00pm

Cancelled
Wed, May 21, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Cancelled
Tue, May 27, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Cancelled
Wed, May 28, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Fri, May 30, 4:30pm - 5:30pm

Sat, May 31, 2:00pm - 3:30pm

Wed, Jun 04, 5:00pm - 6:00pm