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Sankofa Book Club

September's Pick: Black Shack Alley

Black Shack Alley Joseph Zobel's semi-autobiographical novel chronicles the coming-of-age Jose', a young boy grappling with issues of power and identity in colonial Martinique.

Please join the Sankofa Book Club. On September 23, 2024, from 1 pm to 3 pm for our Sankofa Book Club discussion. Our September book pick is Joseph Zobel's novel, Black Shack Alley. Please reserve your copy online, by visiting www.broward.org/library.

Joseph Zobel (April 26, 1915 – June 18, 2006) is the Martinican author of several novels and short stories in which social issues are at the forefront. Although his most famous novel, La Rue Cases-Nègres, was published some twenty years after the great authors of Negritude published their works, Zobel was once asked if he considered himself "the novelist of Negritude". The novel was adapted for the screen by Euzhan Palcy in 1983 as Sugar Cane Alley.

Born in Martinique, Joseph Zobel grew up with the support and unconditional love of his grandmother and his mother. His mother, Delia, was forced to work as a nanny for a Békés (white Creoles) family, the Des Grotte family, in Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique.

Hope to see you all in the program. For more information about Sankofa Book Club or other events, visit the library system in person or online at https://www.broward.org/Library/Pages/Default.aspx

Book Image: Black Shack Alley

About the African American Research Library and Cultural Center 
The Broward County African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) is located in the Sistrunk community, one of the oldest historically Black communities named for one of Fort Lauderdale’s first Black physicians. Opening to the public on October 26, 2002, AARLCC became the third public library of its kind in the United States dedicated to the study of Black history and culture. The 60,000 square-foot Center serves as a repository of materials related to the local, national, and international voices of the African diaspora with more than 85,000 books, manuscripts, artifacts, framed art, print, photography, audiovisual, and documents held in our Adult Services Section and Special Collections. The Youth Services Section features a special collection of Coretta Scott King Award books and the Ashley Bryan Art Collection from illustrators of African Descent. AARLCC also features a 5,000 sq. ft. museum, a 300-seat state-of-the-art theatre, and a Computer Training Center.

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