TAMPA, Fla. — A new bookstore just opened in the heart of Tampa Heights. The goal is to elevate Black authors and liberate banned books.
Gwendolyn Henderson is the familiar face behind the store. She was born and raised in Tampa, was a teacher at Jefferson High School for 30 years, and just last year she was elected to Tampa's city council. Also late last year, she opened the Black English Bookstore.
"This is my bookstore, Black English Bookstore."
Henderson knew she was taking a risk opening this store, but it was one she knew she was ready to take last September when she was on her way home from a city council meeting.
"And I'm so glad I didn't take the regular street home. I drive through the neighborhood. I just do that anyway and the 'For Lease' sign had just gone up 30 minutes before I called."
Once she leased the store, she needed a name.
"I didn't want my bookstore to be named 'Gwen's Bookstore' or anything like that so I just relaxed. And one day I'm reading an article in the New York Times, a reprint of James Baldwin's essay 'If Black English is not a language, then tell me what is.' And there it is."
Each section of the store is meticulously researched and labeled.
"This section is called 'mind your business' and the reason why is because it's a little bit of everything in terms of what Black folks need, regarding mental health, our marriages, our struggle, affirmations, body image, just so many different things."
Helping readers understand why diversity should be understood and celebrated.
"This is the space where I can prove to people that our language should be unapologetic. And so I really wanted to capture that, so I did all of the research to find books that are representative of our culture."
And even though this bookstore is filled with predominantly Black authors, Gwen says this is a safe space for everyone to learn.
"It is just that special... that people, a diverse group of people are entering this space and they are seeing things they may not otherwise see."
And Gwen is happy to answer questions and give recommendations.
"A girl came up to me with an Angela Davis book and she was a white female and she said, 'Is this a good book?' and I said 'Well, you gonna need a glass of wine when you read it.'"
In the six weeks since the bookstore opened, Gwen says it's been an unbelievable success, even if it is a lot of hard work. But it's a different kind of work after 30 years of teaching and motivating teens.
"This actually, being on council and owning a bookstore, in a crazy way, this is actually pretty easy."