About this Event
Wanna read more in 2026 and need some accountability partners at your favorite bookstore? We got you. We also got a community of readers who would love to meet you. Join us. Let's read more.
WHO & WHAT: Rep Club and YOU! Join us monthly or pop-in once. Our reads will span genres and themes, and we'll be led by Rep Club bookseller extraordinaires Bri & Hannah!
April read: When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery
Get it at Rep Club (duh) for 10% off with code: BOOKCLUB10
WHEN: Sunday, April 26th from 10:00-11:30am (doors open at 9:30)
WHERE: In-Person at Reparations Club (3054 S. Victoria Ave. LA, CA 90016)
HOW: Suggested $5 ticket (this is non-refundable and goes toward snacks)
ABOUT THE BOOK
HOW THE WORD IS PASSED MEETS BRAIDING SWEETGRASS IN A CULTURAL AND PERSONAL RECLAMATION OF BLACK HISTORY AND BLACK BOTANICAL MASTERY, SHARED THROUGH THE STORIES OF LONG-LIVED TREES.
The histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. Pecan trees were domesticated by an enslaved African named Antoine; sycamore trees were both havens and signposts for people trying to escape enslavement; poplar trees are historically associated with lynching; and willow bark has offered the gift of medicine. These trees, and others, testify not only to the complexity of the Black American narrative but also to a heritage of Black botanical expertise that, like Native American traditions, predates the United States entirely.
In When Trees Testify, award-winning plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores the ways seven trees—as well as the cotton shrub—are intertwined with Black history and culture. She reveals how knowledge surrounding these trees has shaped America since the very beginning. As Montgomery shows, trees are material witnesses to the lives of enslaved Africans and their descendants.
Combining the wisdom of science and history with stories from her own path to botany, Montgomery talks to majestic trees, and in this unique and compelling narrative, they answer.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Reparations Club, 3054 South Victoria Avenue, Los Angeles, United States
USD 0.00
