LANGSTON HUGHES STAGE
SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2025
11 AM - 7 PM
515 Malcolm X Boulevard | 135th Street between Malcolm X Blvd and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd
FESTIVAL OPENING
11 AM Langston Hughes Auditorium
OPENING PERFORMANCE
Live Parade with Brooklyn United Marching Band
SPECIAL TRIBUTE
Revolutionary Dreams:
A Tribute to Nikki Giovanni
KEYNOTE
Raquel Willis, The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation
Schedule subject to change.
Langston Hughes Auditorium
11AM | Opening Performance
Brooklyn United Marching Band
Join the parade starting outside at the Zora Neale Hurston stage
Revolutionary Dreams: A Tribute to Nikki Giovanni
Featuring Schomburg Junior Scholars Anisah Abdur-Rahman and Skylar Bowery. More to join.
11:45 AM | KEYNOTE CONVERSATION
Featuring Raquel Willis The Risk It Takes to Bloom
Moderated by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Ph.D.
1:00 PM | The South Has Something to Say
Kiese Laymon, City Summer, Country Summer
Imani Perry, Black in Blues
Maurice Carlos Ruffin, The American Daughters
Moderator: DéLana R. A. Dameron, Redwood Court
2:00 PM | That's How They Get You---The Game Show
Celebrating the new anthology collection That’s How They Get You: An Unruly Anthology of Black American Humor, Damon Young and fellow contributors Mahogany L. Browne, Wyatt Cenac, Hillary Crosley Coker, Alexander Hardy, Clover Hope, Shamira Ibrahim, and Ladan Osman compete in an absurd Black trivia game show featuring pop culture, history, literature, and more.
3:00 PM | The Art of Cultural Criticism
Roxane Gay
Nan Collymore, Contemporary And
Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker
Moderator: Daniella Brito
4:00 PM | Storytelling and Suspense in Contemporary Fiction
Iris Mwanza, The Lions’ Den
Yasmin Angoe, No What She Seems
Moderator: Brittany Luse, host, It's Been a Minute
James Baldwin Stage Outdoors
12:00 PM | Literary Disruptors – Building a Literary Market
Glory Edim, founder of Well-Read Black Girl and author of Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me
OlaRonke Akinmowo, founder of the Free Black Women's Library
Valerie Brandes, British publisher, founder and CEO of Jacaranda Books
Moderator: Leslie-Ann Murray, Brown Girl Book Lover
1:00 PM | In conversation: Howard W. French, Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War and the upcoming title, The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide
Moderator: Brian Jones, PhD, Director, NYPL Center for Educators & Schools
2:00 PM | Roots and Routes: Perspectives on Culture and Identity
Morgan Jerkins, Zeal, A Novel
Alejandro Heredia, Loca, A Novel
Moderator: Leslie-Ann Murray, Brown Girl Book Lover
3:00 PM | In conversation: Tricia Hersey, We Will Rest!: The Art of Escape
Moderator: Glory Edim, Well-Read Black Girl
OCTAVIA E. BUTLER STAGE Outdoors
12 PM | Black Utopias: Imagining Alternative Futures Through Literature
Cebo Campbell, Sky Full of Elephants
Andrea Hairston, Archangels of Funk
Clarence A. Haynes, The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery (Expected June 17, 2025)
Moderators: Erika Hardison, Fabulize Magazine Presents: MSAB! Mixtape Vol.1 and
Isis Asare, Sistah Scifi
1 PM | Inside MEGASCOPE
Anthony Pugh, Devour
Anita Okoye, Marvel Comics
Chuck Collins, Bounce!, Altar to an Erupting Sun
Moderator: TJ Sterling, RAE Comics
2 PM | Beyond the Stars
Sheree Renée Thomas, Nine Bar Blues, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
Ibi Zoboi, (S)Kin
Tochi Onyebuchi, Harmattan Season: A Novel
Moderator: Dedren Snead
2:45 PM | A VERY BLACK COSPLAY SHOWCASE
Join us for A Very Black Cosplay Showcase. Participation is open to attendees of all ages and skill levels.
Wanna join the show? Sign up below (slots are limited).
BLOCK PARTY
4:30 PM | LIVE MUSIC
D-Nice
With his journey taking him from the streets of Harlem all the way to The White House, Derrick “D-Nice” Jones is not only a pillar of hip-hop but is continuing to steer pop culture. The legendary artist, DJ, and photographer has moved millions on wax, on stage, and online with his revolutionary virtual “Club Quarantine”. Glad to have him back in Harlem to celebrate our centennial!
The Soapbox Presents: Stoop Sessions
The Soapbox Presents: Stoop Sessions brings live music and electrifying performances to the festival stage, featuring a fantastic band and spotlighting the new icons of Harlem.
Slick Rick
THE RULER RETURNS! Hip-hop legend Slick Rick returns to the stage with a live performance with Soapbox Presents, celebrating the release of Victory—his first album in 26 years—dropping June 13, 2025.
Zora Neale Hurston Stage Outdoors
Join us at the poetry, live readings, and author chats.
12:45 PM | POETRY FOR OUR TIME Melania Luisa Marte, Plantains and Our Becoming
1:30 PM | George M. Johnson, All Boys Aren’t Blue
2:15 PM | POETRY FOR OUR TIME Samiya Bashir, I Hope This Helps
3:00 PM | Mahogany L. Browne, A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe (YA)
AARON DOUGLAS READING ROOM
11:45 AM - 1:45 PM |
PERSONAL STORYTELLING WORKSHOP
Presented by The Moth
As a participant in a Moth workshop, you can shape a life experience of your choosing into a well-crafted story! You will be guided by experienced Moth instructors who will help you recognize the elements of a compelling story, explore a true personal story, and connect more deeply with others in the room.
Instructor: Devan Sandiford
2:00 PM | Following Toni's Lead: Black Editors Shaping Literature Today
Dana A. Williams, Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer's Legendary Editorship
Chris Jackson, EVP, Publisher, & Editor-in-Chief One World
Jennifer Baker, Editorial Director of Storehouse Voices
Moderator: Yahdon Israel, Sr. Editor, Simon & Schuster
3:00 PM | How to Draw Black Comic Books
Tim Fielder, Illustrator, Concept Designer, Cartoonist, and Animator
Akinseye Brown, Artist, Illustrator, and Writer
4:00 PM | Comics To Cartoons: Adapting Sequential Art To The Screen
David Crownson, Harriet Tubman: Demon Slayer, Killer Bee
Roye Okupe, Iyanu
Moderator: Karama Horne, Lion Forge Entertainment, theblerdgurl
MANUSCRIPTS, ARCHIVES AND RARE BOOKS Reading Room
1:00 PM | THIS COULD BE LOVE
Chukwuebuka Ibeh, Blessings
Ani Kayode Somtochukwu, And Then He Sang a Lullaby
Moderator: B.A. Parker, co-host of NPR's Code Switch
2:00 PM | Who We Are, How We Tell It: Stories of Community and Public Spaces
Katie Mitchell, Prose to the People
Irvin Weathersby, Jr., In Open Contempt
Moderator: Joy Bivins, Director, Schomburg Center
3:00 PM | A Literary Life and Career
Tina Andrews, Queen Charlotte Sophia: A Royal Affair
Seph Rodney, Artist as Writers: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life
Tre Johnson, Black Genius
Karon F. Taborn, Walking Harlem: The Ultimate Guide to the Cultural Capital of Black America
Moderator: Steven G. Fullwood, Co-Editor of Artist As Writers: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life
4:00 PM | FUTURE HISTORIES: NEW WAYS OF TELLING DIFFICULT HISTORIES OF VIOLENCE
Chigozie Obioma, The Road to the Country
Ivana Akotowaa Ofori, The Year of Return
Moderator: Dr. Benjamin Talton, Director, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
KIDS CLUBHOUSE Outdoors
11:00 AM | Woke Baby
Presented by Mahongany L. Browne
A family-friendly celebration of justice-oriented children’s books, featuring storytelling, baby yoga, music, an art table, back-to-back book readings and signings. And this year, enjoy a special tribute to Nina Simone.
Guest readers and authors: Mahogany L. Browne (Woke Baby), Miamichelle N. Abad (The Mother’s Day Parade, The Mysterious Patch of Fur), Denise Rosario Adusei (Cesaria Feels the Beat), Kortney Nash (Tell Me About Juneteenth), Omar Holmon, Bemi, Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Ayana Walker, Jive Poetic, Rio Cortez (The River Is My Ocean), Kevin Noble Maillard (Fry Bread), and Tongo Eisen-Martin
1:30 PM | Jump Up Jamboree
Presented by Rev. Malika Lee Whitney, Pickney Productions
Join us for an Afro-Caribbean cultural program celebrating the time honored traditions of storytelling and folkways, which preserve legacy for generation. With lively musical accompaniment, families are transported to an island experience right in the heart of Harlem.
2:45 PM | Sharon Gordon, SHERIBABY: A Little Girl’s Big Voice in Post-Independence Jamaica
3:15 PM | Lift Every Page Storytime
Dorothy Price, Daddy-Daughter Day
Ajuan Mance, What Do Brothas Do All Day?
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, Hold Them Close: A Love Letter to Black Children
4:15 PM | Books N Bros: A Young Brothers' Advice On Good Reads
Sidney Keys III, Books & Bros: 44 Inspiring Books for Black Boys
4:45 PM | Double Dutch Dreamz Get Your Jump On!
A fun filled experience for all ages. Join the rhythm of happy feet jumping rope in
community along with poetic rhymes and tricks too. Yes, it’s something you can do.