“Rooted in Us: Celebrating Black Writers and the Legacy of S. Pearl Sharp” is a free public program in Altadena that brings together local poets laureate and Black writers to honor the late writer, actress, filmmaker and broadcast journalist whose work has centered cultural arts and the Black Diaspora.
The event is designed as an accessible community gathering that invites broad participation in a living conversation about literature, history and community change.
Organizers describe “Rooted in Us” as an Altadena Poets Laureate program that centers on local poets laureate and Black writers and has a clear tribute focus to S. Pearl Sharp, foregrounding Black literary history, community imagination and activism.
They frame the program as a celebration of Black writers and a tribute that draws on ongoing traditions of Black literary and community activism in Altadena.
Internal materials highlight that “the event highlights narratives of Black creativity and resistance, positioning these as central, rather than marginal, stories within the local cultural landscape.”
The Altadena Poets Laureate initiative is housed at the Altadena Library District and organizes poetry workshops, readings and related literary projects for the community.
Current laureates Peter J. Harris and Carla Rachel Sameth were named 2023 Poet Laureate Fellows by the Academy of American Poets and received funding for “Ode to the Land,” a project pairing senior citizens and high school students for poetry workshops and a public reading series focused on place, home and iconic Altadena settings.
“Rooted in Us: Celebrating Black Writers and the Legacy of S. Pearl Sharp” will run on Saturday, Feb. 28, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Loma Alta Park, 3330 Sunset Ridge Rd., Altadena. For more call (626) 798-0833 or visit https://www.altadenalibrary.org/programs?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D194787497.
