March is Women’s History Month. Commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) recognizes the significant contributions of women as activists to the arts and the literary world.

On Tuesday, March 9, at 7 p.m., the NAACP Providence Branch and Cranston Public Library will host a virtual discussion with author Jennifer Smith Turner. The multiple award-winning author will discuss her novel “Child Bride.”

“Child Bride” is a story of the segregated South of the mid-1900s. Fourteen-year-old Nell bears witness to a world that embraces the oppression of women. She is fascinated with the prospect of being an independent person – but when she turns 16, she is married off and brought to the city of Boston as a bride.

“Child Bride” was named best fiction e-book for 2020 by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, and BiblioBoard. The award honors the best self-published e-books in fiction and poetry by an African American author in the United States. “Child Bride” is also a 2020 NYC Big Book Award recipient.

Smith Turner resides in Martha’s Vineyard and was raised in Boston. She is the author of two poetry books, “Lost and Found: Rhyming Verse Honoring African American Heroes” and “Perennial Secrets: Poetry & Prose.” Her work can be seen in a variety of publications including Vineyard Poets, an anthology of poems by Martha’s Vineyard writers, and in the Vineyard Gazette Newspaper.

For information on how to register for the virtual discussion, email Zach Berger at zach@cranstonlibrary.org or Ann Clanton at AClanton6@gmail.com.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization focused on ensuring the political, educational, social, and economic equality of minority groups. The NAACP at the national and local units is committed to providing a platform for African-American authors. Aspiring authors are featured at the NAACP’s national conference.

Locally, the Providence NAACP is a central figure in advocating for diversity in state government, appointing judges of color in the courts, body cameras on police officers and the legalization of marijuana to decrease incarceration of nonviolent offenders.