Natalie Baszile: In-Person & Online
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Women You Need to Know

Natalie Baszile: In-Person & Online

Past Event: Thursday, May 5, 2022

At Town Hall Seattle—The Great Hall

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In Person & Online

Although this event has passed, you can still buy digital passes to view the event recording through May 12 at 7:30 p.m. Author of the novel Queen Sugar, Natalie Baszile has created an immersive, polyphonic examination of Black people’s connection to American land from Emancipation to the present day.

We Are Each Other’s Harvest is an anthology of essays, poems, photographs, quotes, conversations, and first-person stories that explore the lives of Black farmers today: why they continue to farm despite systemic discrimination and land loss, how they are building on the legacy of their ancestors, and the challenges they face in seeking to redress food justice, food sovereignty, and reparations.

Q&A with Kimberly A.C. Wilson.

From the author of the novel Queen Sugar—now a critically acclaimed series on OWN directed by Ava Duvernay—comes We Are Each Other’s Harvest, Natalie Baszile’s beautiful exploration and celebration of Black farming in America. In this anthology, Baszile weaves together essays, poems, photographs, quotes, conversations, and first-person stories to examine Black people’s connection to the American land from Emancipation to the present day.

In the 1920s, there were over one million Black farmers; today there are just 45,000. Baszile explores this crisis through the farmers’ personal experiences. In their own words, middle-aged and elderly Black farmers explain why they continue to farm despite systemic discrimination and land loss. The “Returning Generation”—young farmers who are building upon the legacy of their ancestors—talk about the challenges they face as they seek to redress issues of food justice, food sovereignty, and reparations.

These farmers are joined by other influential voices, including noted historians Analena Hope Hassberg and Pete Daniel; award-winning author Clyde W. Ford, who considers the arrival of Africans to American shores; and James Beard Award-winning writer Michael Twitty, who reflects on Black culinary tradition and its African roots. Poetry and inspirational quotes are woven into these diverse narratives, adding richness and texture, as well as stunning four-color photographs from photographers Alison Gootee and Malcom Williams, and Baszile’s personal collection.

As Baszile reveals, Black farming informs crucial aspects of American culture: the family, the relationship between national identity and land, the pull of memory, the healing power of food, and race relations. We Are Each Other’s Harvest elevates the voices and stories of Black farmers and people of color, celebrating their perseverance and resilience while spotlighting the challenges they continue to face. Luminous and eye-opening, this eclectic collection helps people and communities of color reimagine what it means to be dedicated to the soil.

Natalie Baszile is the author of the novel Queen Sugar, a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2014. Longlisted for the Crooks Corner Southern Book Prize, Queen Sugar was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, adapted for television by writer/director Ava DuVernay, and co-produced by Oprah Winfrey for OWN. Baszile holds an M.A. in Afro-American Studies from UCLA and is a graduate of Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers.

Kimberly A.C. Wilson, our moderator for the evening, is a journalist, storyteller, binge reader, proud auntie, and Executive Director of Hedgebrook, a nonprofit writing retreat for women-identified writers on Whidbey Island. She wrote a play and baked pies in Paris, remodeled a family doll house while rewatching every episode of Law & Order, and spent one terrified night with zombies outside Port-au-Prince. When she’s not at her standing desk, you might find Kimberly writing fiction, streaming French crime shows, making jam, or walking in the woods with her middle-aged rescue dog, Hildy Johnson.

Event Details

Town Hall Seattle—The Great Hall

1119 8th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101

View directions.

Know Before You Go

COVID-19 Policies

Seattle Arts & Lectures requires attendees to provide proof of vaccination for our in-person events this season. See our FAQ for details. Masks are required for all attendees, regardless of vaccination status. Likewise, our staff and volunteers will be vaccinated and masked.

These policies are subject to revision as health and safety guidelines change. You will receive a pre-event email two days prior to each event to confirm our most up-to-date policies.

Can't find your tickets? Need access to the digital event?

All tickets have been emailed for Baszile’s event, so be sure to check your inbox for an email from boxoffice@lectures.org. Ca’ll us at 206-621-2230 x10 if you can’t find them.

For in-person attendance: Your e-tickets come attached in a PDF with your ticket order confirmation email. Present on your mobile device or bring your printed ticket to the venue the night of the event. Check your pre-event email for details on COVID safety precautions.

For online attendance: Your e-tickets, which come attached in a PDF with your ticket order confirmation email, contain your digital access instructions. The night of your event, return to lectures.org/event/natalie-baszile and enter the password where prompted. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. (PT) and will be available for viewing for a week after the event.

SAL will also send an email the day of the event, containing the same information. If you have opted out of receiving SAL emails, you will miss this important information—please email us at boxoffice@lectures.org and we will assist you.

Have a question for the speaker?

Want to ask Natalie Baszile something? Send your question to SAL at sal@lectures.org—it might be asked onstage!

Books

Our partner bookstore will have copies of Baszile’s work available for purchase at their table in the lobby and on their website.

Patrons & Grand Patrons, you're invited to Happy Hour!

Patron & Grand Patron seating includes a pre-event happy hour, as is possible due to COVID-19 restrictions. Check your pre-event email for details.

Transportation & Parking

Town Hall Seattle is centrally located at 1119 8th Ave, on the corner of 8th and Seneca. Their venue is served by frequent bus routes, is near access to light rail stations, and close to a number of parking options nearby. Please see their website for more details.

Accessibility

Open Captioning is an option for people who have hearing losses, where a captioning screen displaying the words that are spoken or sung is placed on stage. To make a request for open captioning, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10. Please note: for in-person events at Town Hall Seattle, we appreciate a two-week advance notice to allow us time to secure captioning services. 

Closed Captioning is an option for people who have hearing loss, where captioning displays the words that are spoken or sung at the bottom of the video for online events. Captioning is available for all online events; click the “CC” button to view captions during the event.

Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) are devices that people with hearing loss use in conjunction with their hearing device (hearing aids or cochlear implants). Town Hall Seattle has a hearing loop system, so you can switch your T-coil hearing aid to telecoil to have the stage’s microphones transmitted directly to your hearing aids. To pick up a headset, check in with any Town Hall usher when you arrive.

Sign Language Interpretation is available upon request for Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing individuals. To make a request for interpretation, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10, or select “Sign Language Interpretation” from the Accessibility section during your ticket checkout process and we will contact you to confirm details. Please note: we appreciate a two-week advance notice to allow us time to secure interpretation.

Wheelchair Accessible Seating and Accessible Restrooms are available in all sections at Town Hall Seattle, which is fully accessible to ticket holders with physical mobility concerns. Town Hall Seattle recommends that visitors use the 8th Avenue Entrance for events in the Great Hall, and elevators with Braille signage go to all levels within the Hall. The venue has all-gender, ADA-accessible restrooms on the lobby and Forum level. To reserve seating for a specific mobility concern, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230×10, or select “Wheelchair Accessible or Alternative Seating Options” during ticket checkout, and we will contact you to confirm details. For more details on accessibility features at Town Hall, click here.

Guide and service dogs are welcome.

All-gender restrooms are available.

We are pleased to offer these accessibility services at our venues, and they are provided at no additional cost to ticket holders. Please contact us with any questions and feedback about how we can be more accessible and inclusive. Our Patron Services Manager is available at boxoffice@lectures.org, or Tuesday-Friday, from 12 noon–5 p.m., at 206.621.2230×10.

For more accessibility information, please head to lectures.org/accessibility. If you would like to make accessibility arrangements you do not see listed here, please contact our box office or select “Other Accommodations” from the Accessibility section during your ticket checkout process, and we will contact you to confirm details.

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