Divine Forces: Exploring the Power of the Orishas

A transformative in-person event blending the power of Yoruba spirituality with cultural exploration and collective healing. Featuring Hugo and Nebula Award winning author Tomi Adeyemi, a keynote by acclaimed author and Yoruba Priestess Luisah Teish and panels with renowned writers and scholars like Sakena Young-Scaggs, Ayize Jama-Everett and Clarence A. Haynes. 

The afternoon conversations will discuss divine forces in African spirituality, their enduring influence across the African diaspora and how these spiritual entities serve as cultural anchors and guides for healing and transformation.

This event offers an inspiring space for enthusiasts and those seeking deeper understanding of  Black Diaspora’s narratives and social justice.

Program Schedule

12:15 – 12:45 PM Registration, Marketplace and Welcome

12:45PM – 1:30 PM   "Black Diasporic Religions” Sakena Young-Scaggs in conversation with Ayize Jama-Everett and Luisah Teish. Moderated by Dr. Stanford Carpenter.

How the worship and understandings of Black Diasporic Religions have evolved across the African diaspora, focusing on cultural continuity, folk ways, popular understandings, media representation and transformation.

1:45 PM - 2:30 PM:  "Orishas Reborn: West African YA Fantasy"
A forward-looking discussion with Hugo- and Nebula Award–winning writer Tomi Adeyemi, author of the Legacy of Orisha series, on the role of Orishas in contemporary literature, particularly YA, and their potential for personal and community healing. Moderated by Isis Asare.
2:30-3:15PM Book Signing with Tomi Adeyemi

2:45 PM-3:30 PM

“Black Spiritual Traditions in Contemporary Literature”  Clarence A. Haynes, author of The Ghosts Of Gwendolyn Montgomery and Kemi Ashing-Giwa, author of The King Must Die are in conversation

3:30-4:15 PM

Keynote: "The Orishas: Guardians of Culture and Spirit"

Luisah Teish, Yoruba Priestess, Author of A Calabash of Cowries: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times

An exploration of the Orishas, their origins in Yoruba spirituality, and their significance in African diasporic cultures.

Visit the Marketplace in the Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room from from 12:30 – 5 p.m.

A partnership between Sistah Scifi, Brother-Story and the African American Center of the San Francisco Public Library. 

Participant Bios

Tomi Adeyemi, New York Times Bestselling Author

Named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Tomi Jasmine Adeyemi is a Hugo- and Nebula Award–winning writer and model based in New York, New York. After graduating from Harvard University with an honors degree in English literature, she wrote the groundbreaking, instant #1 New York Times-bestselling Legacy of Orïsha series, which includes Children of Blood and Bone, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, and Children of Anguish and Anarchy. Tomi’s trilogy has sold over 3 million copies around the world, and its highly anticipated adaptation stars Viola Davis, Cynthia Erivo, Idris Elba, Regina King, and more. The adaptation is set for release in IMAX and theaters January 15th, 2027. When she is not busy writing, Tomi can be found kicking ass in her local boxing gym.

In 2019, Isis Asare founded Sistah Scifi, the first Black-owned bookstore focused on science fiction and fantasy in the United States, as recognized by the American Booksellers Association. In 2023, Sistah Scifi launched three book vending machines located in Seattle and Oakland, CA.

Isis attended Stanford University, where she majored in Psychology and minored in African and African-American studies. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University. She lives in Oakland, CA, with her supportive polycule in a home full of plant babies.

Dr. Stanford W. Carpenter AKA Brother-Story is a cultural anthropologist, comic scholar, sometime comic creator, and former archaeologist. He is the Academic Liaison for Comicpalooza & Founder of Comicpalooza University. Whether it’s through the lens of Ancient Worlds, Afrofuturism, or the EthnoGothic, he conducts ethnographic research among comic creators with an archeological sensibility that teases out the relationships between people, places, time, and things. His research is reflected in his writing, art, and civic and community engagement programming. He is currently developing scholarly programming for Houston’s Comicpalooza. His forthcoming book for Fantagraphics Press explores the cultures and histories of Black comics, creators, and characters. He sits on the advisory board of Abrams ComicArts Megascope imprint and is a co-founder and former chairman of the Black & Brown Comix Arts Festival (BCAF).

Ayize Jama-Everett calls the Bay Area his home despite being born in New York City. He holds a Master’s in Divinity, a Master’s in Clinical Psychology, and a Master’s in Fine Arts, Creative Writing. His books and graphic novels defy easy categorization but hold to what he considers the “veracity of fiction’s ability to expose the human condition.” In his novels, the reader will find science fiction, romance, action, spirituality, and philosophical questions with uncomfortable answers. In 2009, Jama-Everett self-published The Liminal People, which was later picked up and distributed by Small Beer Press. He’s written three more books in the series, The Liminal War (2015), The Entropy of Bones (2015), and Heroes of an Unknown World (2023). Jama-Everett has also written a graphic novel entitled Box of Bones Book I (2022) and Box of Bones Book II (2023) with two-time Eisner Award winner John Jennings, published by Rosarium Press and The Last Count of Monte Cristo (2023) for Abrams ComicArts Megascope graphic novel imprint.

The Rev. Dr. Sakena Young-Scaggs is a Senior Associate Dean for Religious & Spiritual Life at Stanford University and Pastor of the Stanford Memorial Church. Her research "Afrofuturism, Womanist Phenomenology, and the Black Imagination: A Liberative Revisioning of Black Humanity" examines the potentiated hope of visioning African Futures through a Womanist Phenomenological analysis. Dr. Young-Scaggs is experienced in facilitating professional learning sessions in culturally relevant teaching, Black feminist and womanist pedagogy, Culturally Engaged Activism, African folklore, and Traditional Spiritual practices.

Visit the Marketplace in the Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room from from 12:30 – 5 p.m.

A partnership between Sistah Scifi, Brother-Story and the African American Center of the San Francisco Public Library.