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Indie Bookstores on MLK Day/Inauguration Day
Printer-friendly versionThis year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day shares a date with Inauguration Day. Some bookstores have set aside the day for rest, others are offering a safe place for people to gather and avoid the TV, and still others are taking the opportunity to blend the two and engage in local activism.
Here’s what a few of our member stores have planned.
Edmonds Bookshop
Edmonds, WA
This year Edmonds Bookshop has partnered with Lift Every Voice Legacy (LEVL). The shop is holding a book drive January 13–19! All donated books will be given away during LEVL's 7th Annual Tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. event on January 20.
Owner Michelle Bear explained, “Edmonds Bookshop has partnered with Lift Every Voice Legacy (LEVL) for more than seven years now. This is our first book drive with them. LEVL is hosting a free family program at the Edmonds Waterfront Center on January 20, and the books that our community has donated will be raffled off during the event. Our hope this year is that everyone will get a book. I will also have a book table at the event, and usually folks donate more there too!”
Golden Bee Bookshop
Liverpool, NY
On January 20, Golden Bee Bookshop is hosting a MLK Jr. Day of Service and Rest, a day of "gentle activism," where the community can come together to relax and avoid the stress of the news. The bookshop has several things planned for the day, including a book club discussion of Micro-Activism, quiet reading time, and poetry readings.
Golden Bee asks attendees to “bring a full size toiletry item to be donated to the Q Center. Black hair products are especially appreciated.”
Scuppernong Books
Greensboro, NC
On January 20, Scuppernong is hosting a gathering of local advocacy groups whose work will be impacted by the new administration. The store hopes to connect community members with their local organizations.
“We know that in the coming years local community and local activism will make a difference,” the event page explains, “We want to showcase the work being done in our community and help people to access the organizations they might be interested in.”
In line with those goals, Scuppernong has also created a special edition Scuppernong T-shirt that will go on sale on January 20.