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On this day, independent bookstores in New York fight back
By
Sophia Chang
Published Apr 30, 2023
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Sophia Chang / Gothamist
By
Sophia Chang
Published Apr 30, 2023
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It was a dark and stormy Saturday – but the foul elements did not dampen the resolve of booklovers who celebrated Independent Bookstore Day in New York City.
Cafe Con Libros, a tiny bookstore in Crown Heights, was filled with enthusiastic shoppers. Nebyat Teferra of Crown Heights was meeting her friend Helina Seyoum at the bookstore, which focuses on women authors and feminist literature.
“This is the perfect day to check it out,” said Teferra, holding a copy of Toni Morrison’s “Jazz.”
“I feel like when it's rainy, it's like a cozy vibe. So it's perfect,” she said.
Inside Cafe Con Libros, an independent bookstore in Crown Heights, on Independent Bookstore Day.
Sophia chang / Gothamist
“We wanted to support independent booksellers, especially ones in our neighborhood,” Seyoum said. Visiting bookstores for Seyoum was “like a form of self care,” she said. “I like to tell myself it's for my mental health.”
Cafe Con Libros is also part of the Brooklyn Book Crawl covering 25 indie bookstores in the borough. Throughout the city, independent bookstores hosted book talks, poetry slams, and offered special deals and giveaways – all to show how they still matter in the communities they serve and a marketplace dominated by online retailers.
Rachel King from Park Slope said the book crawl has given her the chance to visit a number of new places outside of her own neighborhood. “I love it,” she said, looking at the shelves. “It's a very great space.”
The national political discourse around book banning in schools was on Karolina Carr’s mind, as she and her 12-year-old daughter Olivia waited in line for a hot chocolate.
“When you have German in your roots – we moved here from Berlin – the idea of banning books or worse, burning them, is something that you're brought up on as like a clear sign that you’re heading in the wrong direction,” Carr said.
Hani Hussein, a school social worker from Harlem, said modern history is filled with examples of how literacy was made unattainable for the sake of oppression.
“It always has been, especially if you're a person of color,” Hussein said. “It's always been a precarious time to be interested in learning about yourself and your community.”
Tagged
banning books
independent bookstore day
brooklyn
Crown Heights
Race And Justice Unit
Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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