Growing Together: Black History Through Family, Food, and Foliage

Room: South Wing Reading Room - 2nd Floor

Building: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Main (Oakland)

Time: 4:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Books: After the presentation, attendees are welcome to purchase a book and/or get their book signed at the tent outside.

Pre-registration: Closes on Thursday, 5/28, at 12 PM. Pre-registered attendees will receive priority seating. Walk-ins are welcome if capacity allows.

Moderator: Deborah Rogers

Description

Join us for an exploration of food justice rooted in Black communities, alongside a reclamation of Black history and botanical mastery through the stories of trees. Drs. Ashanté M. Reese and Beronda L. Montgomery share their insights on the deep connections between ecology, culture, and community care.

The 2026 Summer Reading theme is “Grow.” What better way to kick off the season than with this conversation that nurtures knowledge and collective flourishing? "

Author Biographies

Ashanté M. Reese is an award-winning author, anthropologist, and teacher. Mixing Black geographies, food justice, and care, she offers stories about how to use the knowledge we have to get free. Gather: Black Food, Nourishment, and the Art of Togetherness (Norton, 2026) is her latest book. She teaches at The University of Texas at Austin.

Beronda L. Montgomery is writer, science communicator and plant biologist. She was named one of the journal Cell‘s Inspiring Black Scientists in America and awarded 2022 Cynthia Westcott Science Writing Award and 2023 Hutchinson Medal of the Chicago Horticultural Society. Dr. Montgomery is author of Lessons from Plants (Harvard University Press, 2021) and When Trees Testify (Holt, 2026).

Moderator Biography

Deborah Rogers is the first Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (CLP). She is a graduate of Schenley High School and Howard University. At CLP, Deborah leads efforts to ensure equitable access to library services; eliminate barriers facing patrons and staff; and shape the organization's strategic vision and practice around IDEA.

For more information about the Pgh Book Festival, check out the website here.

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