Library Talks

Raquel Willis with Mecca Jamilah Sullivan: The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation

Library Talks

Show Notes

In this episode of Library Talks, writer, activist, and speaker Raquel Willis joins Library Talks to discuss her memoir The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation. She's joined by fellow writer Mecca Jamilah Sullivan.

In The Risk It Takes to Bloom, Raquel Willis recounts with passion and candor her experiences straddling the Obama and Trump eras, the possibility of transformation after the tragedy, and how complex moments can push us all to take necessary risks and bloom toward collective liberation. This recording was part of the Schomburg Centennial Festival.

Find more events celebrating the Schomburg Centennial

More from Library Talks

Apr 22, 2026

In this episode of Library Talks, the acclaimed Irish writer, Fintan O'Toole, delivers the annual Robert B. Silvers lecture.

Apr 15, 2026

In this episode of Library Talks, acclaimed author Maile Chapman joins the podcast to discuss her first novel in fifteen years from acclaimed, The Spoil.

Apr 8, 2026

In this episode of Library Talks, The historian and bass player for The Avett Brothers, Bob Crawford revisits the life of John Quincy Adams in his book America's Founding Son. Adams was born nine years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and he died as the United States was sliding irrevocably toward Civil War. In between he was a foreign ambassador, secretary of state, sitting president, and finally ex-president and sitting congressperson.

Apr 1, 2026

In this episode of Library Talks, Author Daisy Hernández explores one of the most contested questions in contemporary American life: who belongs. Hernández is joined in discussion with journalist Jia Lynn Yang.

Mar 25, 2026

In this episode of Library Talks, historian Ellen Carol DuBois discusses her new book Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life with legal scholar Julie Suk. Elizabeth Cady Stanton presents a definitive portrait of one of the most influential figures in the American struggles for women's suffrage and rights.

See all episodes →