eSource: Freedom Braids

Gather the midnight strands,
tend the roots that gave you life,
weave hopes into pathways—
paths that lead you home.

Day after day, Nemy sows seeds, pulls weeds, and strips leaves in the sugarcane plantation where she is enslaved. But one night, she follows a woman called Big Mother to a hidden shack. There, she finds a group of women braiding each other’s hair. But these are no ordinary braids. Hidden in each elaborate pattern is a secret—a message signaling their intent to flee and a map to guide them in their escape. Will the paths these courageous women weave bring Nemy to a new home where she can be free?

A picture book of love, liberation, and legacy inspired by the true story of enslaved African women in Colombia braiding maps to freedom.