Expert quilter Kim Taylor shares a unique and powerful story of the celebration of the first Juneteenth, from the perspective of a young girl.
On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, General Gordon Granger of the Union Army delivered the message that African Americans in Texas were free. Since then, Juneteenth, as the day has come to be known, has steadily gained recognition throughout the United States. ln 2020,a powerful wave of protests and demonstrations calling for racial justice and equality brought new awareness to the significance of the holiday.
A Flag for Juneteenth depicts a close-knit community of enslaved African Americans on a plantation in Texas, the day before the announcement is to be made that all enslaved people are free. Young Huldah, who is preparing to celebrate her tenth birthday, can’t possibly anticipate how much her life will change that Juneteenth morning. The story follows Huldah and her community as they process the news of their freedom and celebrate together by creating a community freedom flag.
Debut author and artist Kim Taylor sets this story apart by applying her skills as an expert quilter. Each of the illustrations has been lovingly hand sewn and quilted, giving the book a homespun, tactile quality that is altogether unique.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
About the Author
Kim Taylor is a speech language pathologist and Department Supervisor at a large school for deaf children on Long Island. She is also an expert quilter whose works have been exhibited at several venues throughout the Midatlantic region. Taylor’s quilts reflect African American life, and she tells stories through her materials (visit Kim’s website to see her quilts). After researching the origins of the Juneteenth celebration, she created a Juneteenth story quilt which she has exhibited and presented in dozens of local schools. Realizing that few teachers and students had ever heard of the holiday, she was moved to write this book.
"The picture book . . . not only reveals Taylor’s considerable talents as an inspiring raconteur but as a self-taught quilter whose creations uniquely and symbolically illustrate the historically based narrative."—Newsday
★ "Kim Taylor's portrayal of a girl witnessing the first Juneteenth, accompanied by exquisite quilted artwork, is filled with a spirit of jubilation and freedom. . . . her textile art perfectly complements her evocative prose. . . ."—BookPage, Starred Review
"The illustrations quilted by Taylor display strong artistic use of color, texture, movement, stitching, and symbols. Each page has vibrant colors that grab readers at first glance. . . . Taylor effectively breathes life into the characters, even those muddled in the background, by showing their humanity in each page."—School Library Journal
"Both lyrical and descriptive, Huldah’s voice conveys the joy that is found in freedom. . . . A great introduction to the federal holiday."—The Horn Book
"Taylor aptly depicts this story through colorful woven fabrics and folk art-style, quilted scenes."—Booklist "[A] moving debut. . . . It's a discussion-starting, personal-feeling portrait of a communal celebration."—Publishers Weekly
"The art in this work from quilter Taylor is stunning. The craftsmanship and attention to detail are breathtaking. . . .Visually dazzling. . . ."—Kirkus Reviews
LGBT+ Labour apologises for inviting ‘gender critical’ journalist Helen Lewis to speak at event
LGBT+ Labour has apologised for inviting journalist Helen Lewis to take part in a panel discussion about the legacy of Maureen Colquhoun, Britain’s first openly gay MP.
There was immediate backlash on social media on Tuesday (1 February) when it was announced that Lewis would be joining Angela Eagle MP and Dr Mairi Todd, Colquhoun’s step-daughter, in a panel discussion about the late Labour politician’s career.
Labour members and trans people were quick to criticise LGBT+ Labour for inviting Lewis to sit on the panel discussion, which was due to go ahead on Wednesday evening (2 February) over Zoom.
Helen Lewis invitation was ‘an oversight’
Shortly after 6.30pm on Tuesday, LGBT+ Labour issued a statement saying one of its panelists had been invited “in error”.
“LGBT+ Labour would like to apologise profoundly for the composition of the panel for our event ‘Remembering Maureen Colquhoun MP’,” the group wrote.
“An invitation was made in error and it has been withdrawn. LGBT+ Labour does not endorse one of the panelist’s views on Gender Recognition Act reform or trans rights, and the organisation stands in total solidarity with our trans siblings. The invitation was an oversight which we have corrected.
“LGBT+ Labour recognises that trans people and their rights face constant attack in the media and from government, and will always advocate for equality for trans and non-binary people.”
LGBT+ Labour would like to apologise profoundly for the composition of the panel for our event “Remembering Maureen Colquhoun MP”. An invitation was made in error and it has been withdrawn. pic.twitter.com/liZ8HWFmoM
— LGBT+ Labour (@LGBTLabour) February 1, 2022
The political group added that it had taken the decision to postpone the event entirely and that it will announce another date in the near future.
Dr Todd criticised LGBT+ Labour’s response, tweeting: “This was supposed to be a celebration of Maureen and Helen Lewis wrote an incredible tribute to her in her book, which gave me huge comfort at a terrible time.
“I am horrified that it has become an argument about something else.”
Lewis has attracted criticism in the past for her vocal criticism of proposed reforms to the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) which would allow trans people to self-identify. Numerous countries currently allow trans people to self-identify, meaning they can determine their own legal gender with fewer legal and administrative hurdles.
Plans to introduce a similar system in the UK were scrapped following years of vocal criticism from a group of “gender critical” feminists.
In her columns, Helen Lewis has claimed that allowing trans people to self-identify would prevent women from being able to “challenge someone with a beard exposing their penis in a women’s changing room”.
She was a vocal opponent to reforms to the Gender Recognition Act, stating that proposed changes were “gender’s version of Brexit” and represented a “radical rewriting of our understanding of identity”.
Lewis also described the trans rights movement as “the imperial overreach of a handful of trans activists, in trying to rewrite widely accepted ideas about gender by stealth”. Lewis also complained about being described as a TERF in the same piece.
PinkNews has contacted Helen Lewis and LGBT+ Labour for comment.
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