Posted in: Comics | Tagged: 9th National Conference of African American Librarians, Comics, entertainment, Joel Christian Gill, strange fruit

Joel Christian Gill Joins The 9th National Conference Of African American Librarians

Published Thu, 23 Jul 2015 16:00:39 -0500

by Christine Marie

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The spotlight is on Joel Christian Gill for The Black Caucus of the American Library Association's 9th National Conference of African American Librarians (‪#‎NCAAL9.) They will host an exciting lineup of graphic novelists, including Gill.

He will be joining Max Brooks (Harlem Hellfighters) and Eric Dean Seaton (Legend of the Mantamaji) to discuss graphic novels and the African American experience on August 9th, 2015. Joel Christian Gill is the Associate Dean of Student Affairs at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. He wrote the words and drew the pictures in Strange Fruit, Volume I: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History and Bass Reeves: Tales of the Talented Tenth.

Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History has received a lot of praise:

The New York Times said:

Still more thoughtful reflections come from Joel Christian Gill's graphic novel Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History, which unpacks its power through drawings and pointed text that chronicle the trials and triumphs of black Americans who struggled against prejudice more than a century ago. At a moment when racial inequities have ignited this nation, Mr. Gill offers direction for the road ahead from the road behind.

The Chicago Tribune added:

Strange Fruit is black history as you've never seen it before. Working with a striking palette of ruby reds, rich browns, bleached-out blues and deep piney greens, author/artist Joel Christian Gill conjures up forgotten firsts and impassioned everymen in a cartoon style that's at once cheeky and epic, naive and majestic.

Attendees of the 9th National Conference of African American Librarians will receive complimentary copies of selected titles by the authors (while supplies last). Tickets are $35 and can be purchased with registration or separately.