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Charis Books Changes Color and Ownership Team
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Charis Books & More, the 32-year-old feminist bookstore in Atlanta, Georgia, has announced a new ownership team, along with improvements to the store's physical appearance, including a new color for the building. Sara Look, a co-owner and book buyer for 12 years; Angela Gabriel, a part-time staff member for many years; and Amanda Hill comprise the new ownership team. Gabriel and Hill purchased their shares from co-founder Linda Bryant, after she decided to step down as an owner after more than three decades.
According to Look, Charis Books & More is the oldest and largest feminist bookstore in the South. "We are one of the few remaining feminist bookstores in the country," she said. "In 1994, there were over 120 feminist bookstores [in the U.S.], today, in 2006, there are fewer than 20." All three of the new owners have voiced a commitment to maintaining a "feminist vision" in their work.
Hill, who is the newest addition to the store, referred in a press release to her co-ownership position as "a dream come true.... I firmly believe," she stated, "that independent and progressive resources are needed in today's political climate." Also the owner of a renovation business, If I Had a Hammer, Inc., Hill is drawing up plans to build an outdoor patio for the store, as well for as a number of indoor improvements. Already the outside of the store has been painted a bright shade of lavender.
In a recent letter to the Charis community announcing the news of the store changes, former owner Bryant expressed thankfulness for the many people who had helped make her dream of a feminist bookstore a reality. "Thank you," she wrote, "to all of you who bought books and who buy books, who love books, and allow words to change your lives."
Although no longer a co-owner, Bryant said that she will still be involved with the store and with its affiliated nonprofit organization, Charis Circle, founded to foster a feminist community and create social change through educational and cultural programs. --Nomi Schwartz