Freedom Braids (HC) (2024)

Gather the midnight strands,
tend the roots that gave you life,
weave hopes into pathways--
paths that lead you home.

Day after day, Nemy sows seeds, pulls weeds, and strips leaves in the sugarcane plantation where she is enslaved. But one night, she follows a woman called Big Mother to a hidden shack. There, she finds a group of women braiding each other's hair. But these are no ordinary braids. Hidden in each elaborate pattern is a secret--a message signaling their intent to flee and a map to guide them in their escape. Will the paths these courageous women weave bring Nemy to a new home where she can be free?

A picture book of love, liberation, and legacy inspired by the true story of enslaved African women in Colombia braiding maps to freedom.