Aminata: Abbey Lincoln's Song of Faith with author Ada C.M. Thomas

Join us for an engaging discussion with author Ada C.M. Thomas about her latest book Aminata: Abbey Lincoln’s Song of Faith.

Abbey Lincoln (1930–2010), one of the greatest jazz vocalists of the twentieth century, was also an acclaimed composer, poet, playwright, actress, and activist and a towering figure within the African American intellectual tradition. Through constant reinvention, she resisted easy stereotyping and helped open a space for Black women artists to invoke their whole selves. Here, with meticulous research and insightful analysis, Ada C. M. Thomas contemplates Lincoln’s music alongside her poetry, plays, and reflections, revealing a multifaceted artist whose philosophical inquiries resonate deeply with the Black experience. Thomas places Lincoln's albums in the context of both the female jazz and blues singers who influenced her and the male composers she collaborated with, including John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Max Roach. Highlighting Lincoln’s central position within a vibrant global community of Black artists, activists, and writers, it also puts her work into conversation with that of contemporaries and close friends like Maya Angelou, Miriam Makeba, and Toni Morrison. Above all, it traces Lincoln’s extraordinary spiritual and intellectual journey, from her early life in Michigan to her rebirth in the 1970s as Aminata Moseka, meaning “faithful goddess of love,” and her ultimate resurgence in the 1990s as a critically acclaimed jazz artist and composer. With reverence and rigor, Thomas invites readers to rediscover Abbey Lincoln and embrace the transformative power of her words.

This event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration (free) is encouraged. Books will be available for purchase from Source of Knowledge.

Please note: Attendees must present a current Rutgers ID card or government-issued ID (e.g., driver license, passport, Real ID, etc.) to enter Dana Library.

About the author: Ada C.M. Thomas is a writer and scholar of literatures and cultures of the African Diaspora. She has conducted research and taught at institutions of higher education in the United States, The Bahamas, Cuba, and Trinidad and Tobago. She has worked as a Curator at Penn Center, a National Historic Landmark in the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, and served as a Public Scholar for the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. Her poetry and prose have appeared in Decolonial Passage and midnight & indigo. Her book, Aminata: Abbey Lincoln’s Song of Faith, will be published by Rutgers University Press in July 2026.

Location: Dana Library Dana Room, Newark