Happy Birthday Sally Ann

Sally Ann: dee roots beneath da tree" on June 12, 2004

🌳 A 21-Year Celebration of Sally Ann: dee roots beneath da tree 🌳

by Kateb Nuri Shunnar

On this day, June 12th, I raise my pen and my heart in celebration. Twenty one years ago, a story flowed from my soul, inked with memory, heritage, and spirit. That story was Sally Ann a tale that has stood tall like the tree on its cover, with deep roots nourished by the voices of ancestors and the whispers of generations still coming.

Sally Ann: dee roots beneath da tree isn’t just a novel it’s a living testimony. A reflection of a people’s spirit, a woman’s strength, and the ever-resilient Southern Black experience wrapped in dignity, struggle, grace, and power. It was written from the heart of the swamp, from the rocking chairs of porches, and from the sacred soil beneath the trees where our truths were buried and reborn.

To everyone who has ever read it, shared it, cried through its chapters, or saw themselves within its pages I thank you. This book was born from a place of love and survival. It was a gift to the world, but also a healing balm to myself.

Twenty one years later, Sally Ann is still teaching, still stirring souls, still testifying.

Let’s celebrate not just the novel, but the journey mine, yours, and Sally’s.

Author’s Note:

To those still dreaming, still writing, still healing through your own stories: never doubt the power of your voice. Just like roots beneath a tree, you may be unseen, but you are holding everything together.

Happy 21th Anniversary, Sally Ann.

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