NIGERIA JONES

Until her mother left them, 16-year-old Nigeria Jones never questioned her father’s revolutionary vision.

As the daughter of famous Black nationalist Kofi Sankofa, it’s up to Nigeria to help raise Freedom, her baby brother, in the Movement, “whose mission is to divest from oppressive systems and create an all-Black utopia.” That means working to maintain the Village House, the home where members who need a place for healing or hearth to welcome them can stay until they get on their feet and spread the message of the Movement elsewhere. It means continuing to build the Movement’s Freedom School, completing research for her father’s books, and filling in any of the gaps left by her mother’s absence until she comes back. Nigeria knows she will come back. It does not mean sneaking off to a Quaker prep school that’s the opposite of everything her father stands for. However, when the misogyny of the Movement chips away at Nigeria’s fealty, that’s exactly where she goes. Her tumultuous personal journey toward emotional and radical self-honesty shapes this superb story of a girl missing her mother and terrified of missing out on a life that she chooses for herself. Readers may feel some themes would have benefitted from deeper exploration; still, the complexities of intracommunity gender marginalization within the Movement are a thoughtful reflection of real multilayered freedom struggles within Black diasporic communities.

A strong declaration for supporting, loving, and empowering all Black women everywhere.