Books share universal story of what we can all become

Members of the King’s community will have the opportunity to read all three of Trinidadian-born author Grace Ibrahima’s books: Mercy: One Life, Many Stories; White Questions. Black Answers: Helping Kids To Be Seen And Heard; and All Will Be Well. All three will be available through King’s G. Emmett Cardinal Carter Library. 

Mercy: One Life, Many Stories and All Will Be Well are autobiographical, as Ibrahima overcame addiction and family tragedy, and adjusted to life as a widow and single mother, and used love and hope as powerful allies to emotional freedom and success. White Questions. Black Answers. Helping Children to Be Seen and Heard, stems for the questions children have asked her about race and racism.

“Starting as a semi-illiterate woman, I could never imagine my books sitting in King's University College library. Having not one, not two, but all three of my books in your library is difficult for me to comprehend and equally overwhelmingly wonderful. Having my book sitting next to other great writers is indeed humbling. My sincere hope is that these books would be a resource for King’s School of Social Work and others,” says Ibrahima.

Dr. Rick Csiernik, Professor of the School of Social Work. has known Ibrahima for 22 years. They met when she was a student at McMaster University, where he taught prior to coming to King’s. He encouraged Ibrahima to tell her story and helped her find a publisher for her first book, Mercy: One Life, Many Stories. In the fall of 2021, Dr. Csiernik and Ibrahima collaborated on a series of presentations discussing racism for Social Studies students, which was a pilot project with the Waterloo Region Museum’s Communities in Canada: Past and Present program. Ibrahima continues to work with school boards and organizations to arrange presentations that discuss racism, bullying and substance misuse, and help children find their voices in the post-pandemic world. On May 24, Dr. Csiernik and Ibrahima did a Zoom presentation with the Rainbow District School Board in Sudbury.

“By helping to tell Grace's story, one of illiteracy to authorship, from having no education to giving guest lectures at universities and becoming an in-demand public speaker, we share the universal story of what we can all become if we are given the opportunity. By our library providing King's students access to Grace's books, we continue to provide that opportunity,” says Dr. Csiernik.

Emma Swiatek, Head of Research and Information Services at the Library, says the books are “excellent examples of how we can incorporate the perspectives and knowledge of those with lived experience into our collection.”

“What is wonderful about the presentation is that while the focus is on Black-white relations and the impacts on people of colour, the conversation flows into issues of privilege and social location, which you wouldn't think grade school age children would get and yet their questions are truly insightful and their interest genuine,” says Dr. Csiernik.

The three books will be a part of the library’s Social Work collection, which supports students preparing for professional social work practice by providing academic resources. However, Swiatek says the books will have value for everyone. “Grace's books provide the value of personal perspective for anyone who finds them on our shelves. These books are excellent additions to our collection as they encourage the reader to engage in meaningful learning around a variety of social issues, including racism, bigotry, and prejudice. Along with educating, Grace also inspires her readers as they follow along with her on her journey,” says Swiatek.