Ujamaa Community Bookstore opens with focus on African American literature, merchandise

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A caller Indianapolis bookstore is bridging civilization and literacy.

The Flanner House opened Ujamaa Community Bookstore a period ago, gathering connected a century-old committedness to community.

While successful galore places African American civilization is confined to 1 section, bookstore representatives accidental astatine Ujamaa it’s much than a conception — it’s the full thing. And it’s important for radical to spot themselves successful the books they work and products they buy.

There’s inactive thing peculiar astir holding a carnal publication successful your hands. Ujamaa Community Bookstore is 1 of the places successful municipality wherever you tin inactive person the experience.

“Something of worth successful the tangible process of hunting for a book,” said Flanner House enforcement manager Brandon Cosby.

Rohini Townsend manages the shop. She said civilization and literacy is simply a passionateness and it’s hard to enactment into words what it means to beryllium surrounded by it each successful 1 place.

“It’s been validating to perceive radical accidental it’s similar bringing a ray of sunshine to the neighborhood,” said Townsend.

The roots astatine the Flanner House tally deep, too. It opened astir 125 years agone to supply resources to families conscionable a procreation removed from slavery. And portion Ujamaa is simply a bookstore, it’s besides a spot for section trade makers and authors to merchantability their work.

“It’s truly impactful and it’s similar a privilege to do,” said Townsend.

For 40 years, a subdivision of the nationalist room filled this space, but it pulled retired successful 2019. Cosby said it near a void for radical seeking entree to books, net and programming.

“We truly sat down and started reasoning about, ‘How bash we regenerate with the vicinity nonaccomplishment and bash it successful a mode that would really payment the neighborhood?'” helium said.

There are aggregate assemblage programs, arsenic good arsenic caller ones successful the works. Eunice Trotter teaches a genealogy people for the store. Despite misconceptions, determination are rather a fewer records connected African American families.

“Because African Americans were considered property, determination are records. They are peculiarly for radical who are from the south,” she said.

She adds that this abstraction functions arsenic an all-around taste gathering place. not conscionable for Black people, but for others who privation to learn.