ABOUT THE BLACK AUTHORS FESTIVAL

The Black Authors Festival is the brainchild of Darlene Williams who is an avid reader, lover of books and magazines, an author, advocate, and social activist. Originally the inception of The Black Authors Festival was to take place on Martha’s Vineyard and would have been the first of its kind on the Vineyard. However, after careful consideration, Darlene decided to bring the Festival to her roots, the eastern part of Suffolk County. The Festival, in just two years has become the most talked about and SOLD OUT Festival that is slated to take the nation by storm. Voted as one of the Top Best New Festivals in the Nation by USA Today.

The Mission…

is multi-purposed…

(1) to become a treasured literary tradition;

(2) to encourage Black people of all ages to embrace reading, writing, and comprehension for the purposes of telling our authentic stories and leaving a true legacy;

(3) to forever ban book banning;

(4) to protect the First Amendment right to free speech in all forms for all Americans;

(5) to raise funds for scholarships for young people pursuing a college degree in law;

(6) pay homage to our ancestors who sought refuge in Sag Harbor and were free to write, create, and conduct business. Sag Harbor has been home to creatives and historians such as Langston Hughes, the descendants of inventor, Lewis Latimer, Lena Horne, B. Smith, and others.

The Vision…

Darlene has had the pleasure of meeting and/or has sat on civil rights committees with some of the world’s most prolific Black folks. It is her intention to carry the torch and pass it off to the next generation. She remains committed to enduring the struggle in hopes of leaving the world a much better place than which she found it.