From "Hooked on Phonics" to a Haven for Our History: Why Our Stories Must Be Told

There’s a picture somewhere of a little girl with a crooked-toothed grin, clutching a book like it was treasure. That little girl was me. My love affair with words started early, sparked by a box of "Hooked on Phonics" that unlocked a universe I’ve been exploring ever since. I didn't just learn to read; I devoured words. I became a fixture in the school library, my name constantly called for awards celebrating the sheer volume of books I consumed. Do you remember the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! program? Those coupons for a free personal pan pizza were badges of honor, and I admit, I secretly loathed sharing them with my cousins, hoarding the stacks I had earned while they had none.

My immersion in literature wasn't just about escaping into fantasy. It created a deep, insatiable thirst for knowledge and a desire to grapple with the world around me. In the 3rd grade, while others were writing about their pets, I penned a story about a kidnapping. By the 9th grade, my writing had evolved to tackle complex themes of death, and I even found myself drafting a sermon, trying to make sense of the profound questions of life. These weren't subjects typical for a child, but books had taught me that no topic was too big, no question too daunting to explore. They gave me permission to be curious and the vocabulary to articulate what I discovered. This early journey is the bedrock of my love for history and my passion for sharing knowledge.

It’s this very passion that fuels this bookstore and our mission today. We are living in deeply unsettling times, where a calculated effort to erase and sanitize our history is underway. The stories I found solace and understanding in are now the very ones being pulled from shelves and challenged in schools. There is a concerted attack on Black authors, Black stories, and the unvarnished truth of our journey. This is not merely a debate about a curriculum; it is an attempt to sever our connection to our past and, in doing so, to dim the light of our future.

This is why preserving our culture through books is not just important—it is an act of resistance. It is a declaration that our history matters, our joy matters, our pain matters, our triumphs matter. Every biography of a Civil Rights icon, every novel depicting the vibrant life of a Black family, every poem that captures the rhythm of our resilience is a stone in the foundation of our legacy. These are not just books; they are mirrors for our children to see themselves reflected in greatness and archives for future generations to understand the world that shaped them.

When you walk through the doors of this bookstore, I want you to feel what I felt as a child holding that first BOOK IT! coupon—a sense of pride, of ownership, of a world of possibility at your fingertips. By choosing to read and share these narratives, you become a guardian of our culture. You ensure that the lessons from our past continue to inform our present and inspire our future.

Let us not allow our stories to be silenced. Let us read them, share them, discuss them, and pass them down. In these pages, we find our strength, our truth, and the enduring power of our voice. Welcome in.