Kelly Harris-Deberry

Freedom Knows My Name Kelly Harris-Deberry

Freedom Knows My Name takes readers on a poetic journey of seeking collective and personal freedom as a Black woman. By scanning the QR code on the back of the book, readers are transported to the author reading selected poems such: "For the Women Who Save Me," "Disruptions", "Ms. Potato Head (for Rachel Dolezal)." Harris-DeBerry's verbal autopsy of Dolezal's transracial declaration is masterful. "Strangers Wanting to Buy My House (Not for Sale)" is a visual commentary on gentrification. The poet also explores her family's migration roots from the South to Cleveland and Ohio to living in New Orleans in the poem, "Super Sunday." Poet icon, Sonia Sanchez, is also celebrated in "Sonia." This is a needed conversation in the palm of your hands.