This Juneteenth event mixes literature with the carefree, artistic, and meditative process of nail polishing. In this workshop, participants will read an assigned section from Toni Morrison’s seminal 1987 novel, Beloved. The selected one-page reading passage combined with the self-expressive practice of nail polishing will encourage participants to reflect on body politics. Reflecting on community and the self, participants will think deeply about how body art  —in particular, nail polishing — can also be a radical act of self-care, self expression, and self reclamation.

Josie Wells is an award-winning journalist and founder of Footnotes and Indexes, a New York-based book club that aims to initiate personal growth and foster critical thinking through works by Black writers and Black feminist philosophies.