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For general questions about reservations or event details, please contact the DC Public Library location you are planning to visit. For those in need of disability services related to event registration or room reservation, please reach out to the Center for Accessibility at 202-727-2142 or DCPLaccess@dc.gov. |
Join us at the MLK Library for an Author talk with A'Lelia Bundles for the release of her new book Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance.
This Author Talk is in partnership with Politics & Prose, the DC Public Library Foundation, and The Washington Association of Black Journalists. The Foundation has donated copies of the book to the first registered attendees to arrive.
For reasonable accommodations, please contact the Center for Accessibility at 202-727-2142 or DCPLaccess@dc.gov. For ASL or tactile interpretation, please allow at least seven (7) days notice.
A’Lelia Bundles is the author of Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance (Scribner, June 2025), the first major biography of her great-grandmother, and of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, a New York Times Notable Book and bestseller about her great-great-grandmother, an early 20th century hair care industry entrepreneur and philanthropist. She is the founder of the Madam Walker Family Archives, the largest private collection of Walker photographs, memorabilia and ephemera. A’Lelia worked in network television news for thirty years, first at NBC News where she was a producer for news and magazine programs, and then at ABC News where she was a World News Tonight producer, Washington, DC deputy bureau chief and director of talent development.
Her book, On Her Own Ground, received the Association of Black Women Historians’ 2001 Letitia Woods Brown prize for the best book on Black women’s history and was named a Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s Honor Book and a Hurston/Wright-Borders Books Legacy Award finalist in 2001. This deeply researched non-fiction book was the inspiration for Self Made, the fictional four-part 2020 Netflix series starring Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer. A recipient of an Emmy and a du Pont Gold Baton for her television news work, A’Lelia has participated in writing residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell and was named to Forbes Magazine’s 50 Over 50 Impact list.
She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and received a masters degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. @aleliabundles on Instagram, Threads, BlueSky and TikTok.
Tracy Chiles McGhee is an award-winning author, cultural curator, and independent scholar. She is the author of the historical novel, Melting the Blues, winner of six awards including the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Honor Book for Fiction and the Independent Publisher Book Award Bronze Medal.
McGhee is a 2025 DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellow and a 2025 HumanitiesDC Community Culture & Heritage Grant Award Recipient. She was a 2024 HumanitiesDC Independent Practitioner Fellow and holds the distinction of being named the Inaugural HumanitiesDC Literature Fellow.
McGhee is also the visionary behind Salon Redux: In the Spirit of Georgia Douglas Johnson, a DC citywide initiative that reimagines the historic S Street Salon to build community for today's times.
A graduate of Georgetown University and Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law, McGhee’s mission is to highlight and preserve “herstory” as well as to spark joy and creativity - multiple stories at a time.
The DC Public Library Foundation partners with the DC Public Library to enhance Washington, DC’s public libraries, bringing private philanthropy together with government support to ensure that our libraries deliver the highest quality of service to the District’s residents. With the help of many generous people, the Foundation provides educational programs for children and youth, workforce development training, cultural events, and collection enhancements for DC’s libraries.
Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ) is an organization of more than 300 journalists, journalism professors, public relations professionals, and student journalists in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Author Talk |
