Black in the Stacks: Where the Culture is Kept

Black in the Stacks is back!! On this episode, I chat with Anayo Auwzie, the brilliant mind behind Carefree Magazine, a digital platform that is both a mirror and a window into the lives of Black Women across the diaspora, sharing stories of life, love, adventure and everything in between. We also discuss how Anayo is turning her platform into a physical coffee table book called "Black Women in Bl...

What happens when the stories we read fail to reflect the skin we live in? On this episode of Black in the Stacks: Where the Culture is Kept, we explore the vital necessity of representation in literacy and the journey of navigating the world with a rare condition. Marquita chats with Megan Cauthen, the founder of The Golden Impact and author of the children's book Nellie & Ollie: A Friend Lik...

On this episode of Black in the stacks, Marquita chats with Kayla Turner Thomas about her film debut, "Framing Freedom: The Inspiring True Story of Black Landownership in Mississippi. It's a gripping feature length documentary told through the lens of Thomas’ grandfather, Henry Harris, a retired second-generation farmer whose father, John Harris, managed to buy and keep farmland while Jim Crow law...

On this episode of Black in the Stacks, Marquita chats with Kaetrena Davis Kendrick about the systemic causes of low morale and workplace harm within library environments, recognizing and naming instances of workplace harm, and practical strategies for personal recovery after such experiences.  Kaetrena Davis Kendrick is a dynamic and uplifting researcher, leader, consultant, and coach. Her missio...

On this episode, Marquita chats with Christopher Fleming, aka "The People's Librarian", about his idea that libraries don't fail because people don't care, but because the systems (how they talk, work, and move) aren't built with intention and how poor institutional design can lead to both poor patron engagement and staff frustration. Christopher Fleming is a public library leader and librarian wi...

On this episode, Marquita chats with documentarian and journalist, Brandis Griffith Friedman, about her documentary, Opportunity, Access & Uplift: The Evolving Legacy of HBCUs. The 30-minute documentary focuses on the changes, misconceptions, and current state of Historically Black Colleges and Universities through the stories of the students themselves and expert insights. Brandis Friedman is...

On this episode, Marquita chats with author Tonya Abari about her latest publication, a picture book titled "The Six Triple Eight: A True Story of the Black Woman Battalion of World War II." Tonya not only created a picture book about The Six Triple Eight's legacy, she is also involved in retired Army Master Sergeant Elizabeth Helm-Frazier's letter writer campaign to get 10,000 letters to the Citi...

On this episode of Black in the Stacks, Marquita chats with Dr. Shaundra Walker about the importance of HBCU libraries, the significance of HBCU week, and her life working in academia. A proud HBCU graduate, Dr. Walker works as an academic Library Administrator and is also a professor of library science. She received the 2020 DEMCO Outstanding Librarian of the Year Award from the Black Caucus of t...

On this episode of Black in the Stacks, Marquita talks with author J. E. Thomas about her love of literature, how she pivoted out of her communications career, and her latest publication, The AI Incident. The book follows Malcom, who has developed a plan to finally get adopted before it’s too late. But then on Visiting Professionals’ Day, his new school invites the head of Colorado's fastest-growi...

In this episode of Black in the Stacks, Marquita chats with author Khadijah VanBrakle about her interests, her views on why it’s important that children and teens who are both Black American and Muslim, like her three daughters, see themselves on the printed page, and how Gilmore Girls inspired her latest novel, My Perfect Family,   My Perfect Family follows 16 year old Leena, who has always wante...

A candid interview with Christina Dotson as we discuss her background, her interests and her debut novel, "Love You to Death."  About the Book: Best friends, Kayla and Zorie, crash an Antebellum-themed hashtag#wedding deep in the backwoods of hashtag#Georgia and end up taking a murderous "road trip from hell." 

The crucial role of Black people as educators, strategists, fundraisers and advocates plays a huge role in ensuring that Black minds flourish. In this episode, Marquita chats with Dr. Karida Brown, a sociologist, professor, oral historian, and public intellectual whose research centers on the fullness of Black life. Dr. Brown’s latest publication, "The Battle for the Black Mind" offers an explosiv...

In this episode, I chat with Erica Ware, a veteran librarian with 18 years of experience, who champions comic books and graphic novels as legitimate forms of reading. Despite often being dismissed by some as "not real reading," these formats are powerful tools for information reception. Erica, a dedicated film buff with a degree from Georgia State University and a lifelong fan of comics, shares he...

*Warning: Some expletives used this episode* Librarianship is not a monolith. There are many different perspectives and this episode definitely explores one such perspective. In this episode, Marquita speaks with Jason K. Alston. Alston has worked in the library field since 2006 and is currently an instructor in library science. He is best known in LIS for his research on diversity residencies and...

On this very first episode of Black in the Stacks, Marquita chats with the First African American woman to lead the American Library Association, Tracie D. Hall. Hall is not only a world-class librarian, she is also an author, curator and advocate for the arts. We chat about the books that occupy her time, the future of Black librarianship, and a very special moment that is sure resonate with list...

Hear from Black in the Stacks host, Marquita Gooch, MLIS, describe why she decided to start the podcast now. She talks a little about what inspired her, what makes *this* podcast different, the exploration of librarianship and information professionals, keeping Black librarianship alive and what to expect in upcoming episodes.