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Race, Sign Language At Center Of Debut Novel 'We Love You, Charlie Freeman'

Kaitlyn Greenidge‘s acclaimed debut novel “We Love You, Charlie Freeman” centers around an unusual scientific experiment: an African-American family’s move from their mostly-black neighborhood to live at a research institute, in an almost all-white community.

The family is there to teach a chimpanzee sign language and to raise him as a member of the family while the researchers observe and take notes. It’s a story about race and language and some difficult history.

Book Excerpt: ‘We Love You, Charlie Freeman’

By Kaitlyn Greenidge

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Excerpted from the book WE LOVE YOU, CHARLIE FREEMAN by Kaitlyn Greenidge. Copyright © 2016 by Kaitlyn Greenidge. Reprinted with permission of Algonquin Books.

Guest

  • Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of “We Love You, Charlie Freeman.” She tweets @kkgreenidge.
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