BUFFALO, N.Y. — Opening a book can open your world, whether that’s seeing yourself reflected in its pages or finding a new perspective.
“Reading, for me, changes everything,” said Sharon Holley, the co-owner of Zawadi Books.
Sharon and her husband Kenneth opened up their first bookstore in the 1970s.
“We both had a love of books,” she said. “This was a niche that was missing.”
Their focus at Zawadi Books is offering material by and about people of African descent from across the nation to right in their backyard.
“Alliah Agostini does not live in Buffalo now, but grew up in Buffalo. Her grandparents were a part of the first Juneteenth festivals here in Buffalo,” said Holley as she flipped through “The Juneteenth Story: Celebrating the End of Slavery in the United States.”
That’s representation that wasn’t there years ago.
“I was always a reader, so I had books,” explained Holley. “But to find books that talked [about] or people in the books that looked like me, would have made a major difference.”
Whether people are coming in for a gift, for something to add to a classroom, or for anything in between, there’s a lot you can learn in these pages.
“We have books about religion, including the original African heritage Study Bible,” said Holley. “We have fiction books, books about anti-racist behavior — ‘Nice Racism’ and ‘White Fragility’ — books on sports.”
Ignorance was on display on May 14, when a white nationalist took the lives of 10 Black people less than a five-minute walk down the block.
For Zawadi Books, their focus remains on the community.
“That did not change our perspective on what we do here as a store,” Holley said. “We were supportive of community efforts to heal. When people came in looking for books and things we were able to help them.”
They helped Zaire Goodman and Zeneta Everhart’s book drive for schools and community centers to try and bridge cultural divides.
“We’re not saying how you should think or what you should do about it, but here’s how to become more informed about what you’re interested in,” Holley said.
The times are changing. More of these books are making their way into traditional bookstores, but the Holleys’ mission isn’t done yet.
“I’d like to hope that our presence as a bookstore increases the knowledge that people will have in general about African Americans,” said Holley.
Zawadi Books is located at 1382 Jefferson Avenue, but they ship nationwide. For Black History Month, they are participating in the African American Read-In, which encourages people to read books by Black authors at their local libraries, bookstores, and other communal gathering sites.
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