To do something that goes against public advice or current trends takes a lot of courage and a strong belief system,
On Saturday, we were in Gateway Bookstore, a new African-American bookstore in Jacksonville,
I had known it was there for the past several weeks, in fact a friend had told me to go by and speak to the woman who owned it, but this past week was the first time I had been able to get there, walking in I was transfixed,
The floors were dark, black and brown wood,
The art and furnishings were so unique, I wasn’t sure if I were in a bookstore, an apartment in Harlem, my own home or a combination thereof,
This tall stately woman walked over to us, I soon discovered she was the owner and,
The author of ‘Wake up and Smell The Dollars, Dorothy Pitman Hughes,
This woman had been a Panther, worked with the Carter Administration and mentored Gloria Steinem, a fierce sister, who well into retirement age was still a worker, dreamer, believer…she told me about her vision for Gateway Book Store, The Gateway to Knowledge…
She and I clicked immediately, I felt I had known her forever,
And I asked about community support,
She wasn’t getting much yet but she was really doing great things in terms of bringing authors in,
She had already had Brenda Jackson, LaJoyce Brookshire, Author of Faith Under Fire, had been there the night before and Phillip Roth was coming in a few weeks,
I was literally frothing at the mouth, scooping up books, forgetting that I was an author myself, but she reminded me by telling me she wanted to house my work and wanted me to come back for a book signing and to read to the children in the community,
My neck almost snapped from nodding yes and please, please, please…
She topped it off by bringing out a drawing of a Sengalese child who could have been me as a kid, my jaw dropped as did that of my husband,
Young women from the neighborhood walked in, who were shocked there was a book store there, I was encouraging them to come in and purchase…it was cool,
As I gathered up my arm full of books and my drawing, she made me promise to come back so we could discuss my ‘activities’,
I heartily agreed, knowing she would probably get sick of me,
And not because she was going to support my work, but because, she was a woman who BELIEVED and was putting her money where her heart was…
I love that!
Blessings,
Angelia, Believer
