Overview: Author Arianne Edmonds has released a book titled “We Now Belong to Ourselves” which chronicles the life and work of her great-great grandfather, Jefferson Lewis Edmonds, a pioneering Black journalist who founded The Liberator, one of the first Black-owned newspapers in Los Angeles at the turn of the twentieth century. The book is a blend of poetry, archival research, and personal storytelling that reclaims a chapter of L.A. history that has often been overshadowed and highlights the importance of reclaiming the power of narrative. Edmonds’ work is a call to reclaim the power of narrative and show a positive reflection of Black society.
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On the evening of June 5th, community members gathered at The Reparations Club, a Black-owned bookstore in Los Angeles, to celebrate the launch and book signing of “We Now Belong to Ourselves,” a powerful blend of poetry, archival research, and personal storytelling by Arianne Edmonds.
The book chronicles the life and work of Edmonds’ great-great grandfather, Jefferson Lewis Edmonds, a pioneering Black journalist. Jefferson Edmonds founded The Liberator, one of the first Black-owned newspapers in Southern California, at the turn of the twentieth century. Born into slavery, Edmonds became a fierce advocate for education, civic power and women’s rights—using the press as a tool for liberation.
“The title means a lot to me because it’s essentially saying that we get to reclaim our story, we get to reclaim our role in American history and all the work that we did to make sure that we’re not forgotten,” Arianne Edmonds said.
At the event, Arianne Edmonds read excerpts from the book and spoke about the emotional process of uncovering her family’s history, sifting through archives, and connecting it to the present-day fight for Black visibility and media justice. She explained that through her work of years studying archives and speaking with elders in the community about her great-great grandfather and California Black history, writing a book was the natural next step.
“I don’t think that our stories are missing,” Edmonds said. “I think that we are learning how to translate those stories that exist within our families and how to share them with the larger public.”
“We Now Belong to Ourselves” also reclaims a chapter of LA history that has often been overshadowed. The Liberator, published in the late 1800s and early 1900s, served as both a watchdog and a celebrator of everyday Black life — a role that Edmonds says is still urgently needed today.
“I think that the paper, in many ways, helped shift Black consciousness. It encouraged us to think differently about what our place is in the world. [Jefferson] was talking to people who were formerly enslaved, people who didn’t always know how to think about a life beyond maybe the south,” Edmonds said.
“He used his paper to say, ‘come to California, there’s oceans and orange blossoms and beautiful homes. We also deserve to have rest and joy and happiness.’”
In a time when misinformation and media bias continue to disproportionately affect communities of color, Edmonds’ work is both a deeply personal act of remembrance and a public call to reclaim the power of narrative.
“I think in many ways, the paper built a legacy around dreaming, around manifesting a different life for yourself and true abundance,” Edmonds said.
“The mainstream media does a really good job of showing some of the parts of Black society that they deem as important, often violent and painful — and not true reflections of who we are,” Edmonds said.
“The Black media has this beautiful opportunity to create something totally new, to show us reflections of us when we’re graduating, when we’re winning awards, when we’re loving our children… [and] has always painted this beautiful picture of who we are.”
“We Now Belong to Ourselves” will also be uplifted at the Los Angeles Central Library on June 14th during the June Jubilee: A Celebration of Black Excellence.