Red Emma’s

As a war-survivor and child refugee sharing endangered and discredited ancestral knowledge of the Global South, particularly tales from Lebanon from 1948 to 2023—the book follows the tradition of the hakawati, the storytellers of the Levant, holding Indigenous knowledge and wisdom, Céline Semaan, a hakawati herself, documents what she has witnessed throughout her life and the lives of her family members, sharing her upbringing and cultures of resistance.

The book is published as part of the new Slow Factory Imprint, Slow Factory Press: Books for Collective Liberation. 

Photo: Dean Majd

Céline Semaan is a Lebanese-Canadian designer, writer, artist, speaker, and advocate working at the intersection of environmental and social justice. Céline is the founder of Slow Factory, a 501c3 public service organization addressing the intersecting crises of climate justice and social inequity — filling the gap for climate adaptation and preparedness, building community power through open education, narrative change and regenerative design. As a part of this work, Slow Factory produces a conference series promoting sustainability literacy called Study Hall, the first science-driven incubator in fashion called One X One, and a range of other offerings. Céline writes for New York Mag: The Cut, Elle, Refinery29, Huffington Post, among other publications. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, CNN Vogue, Refinery29, Scientific American, Fast Company, Teen Vogue and many other outlets.

Jen White-Johnson (she/they) is an Afro-Latina disabled and neurodivergent artist, designer, and educator whose visual work explores the intersection of content and caregiving, emphasizing redesigning ableist visual culture. Jen’s heart-centered and electric approach to disability advocacy bolsters these movements with invaluable currencies: powerful dynamic art and media that all at once educate, bridge divergent worlds, and build a future that mirrors her Autistic son’s experience. Mothering as an Act of Resistance is central to Jen’s philosophy, as she channels this energy into her work. Jen has presented her disability justice activist work and collaborated with brands and art spaces across print and digital media, such as Coachella, Target, and Adobe. Her work has been featured in AfroPunk, Teen Vogue, The Washington Post, and Juxtapoz Magazine, among other publications. Jen’s work is also permanently archived at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Smithsonian National African American Museum of History and Culture. Jen has an MFA in Graphic Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she teaches design. She lives in Baltimore, MD, with her husband and 11-year-old son, Knox.