Shawna Ayoub

If someone forwarded this to you, subscribe here! If you want to get in touch, email here! It’s finally summer. The kids are out of school. Summer routine kicks in and life slows down a bit. This is my favorite time of year. We’re taking it easy in July in hopes that you do too, and in August we will start a new community project that we’ll announce separately next week. Hint: it requires buying or loaning a book.

Dear Readers & Writers, July 1 in the Netherlands is the commemoration of the emancipation of formerly enslaved Africans in Suriname. Much like Juneteenth for America, Keti Koti is something I learned about only in adulthood. Much like Juneteenth, the stories are eerily similar: slavers enraged that emancipation came to “ruin” their entire way of being, so the most vital information is withheld, in Suriname’s case, for ten additional years post freedom.

If someone forwarded this to you, subscribe here! If you want to get in touch, email here!