Black Garnet Books
 | |
| Formation | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Dionne Sims |
| Type | Bookstore |
| Headquarters | 1319 University Ave W, St Paul, MN 55104 |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 44°57′22.02″N 93°9′18.87″W / 44.9561167°N 93.1552417°W |
| Website | https://www.blackgarnetbooks.com/ |
Black Garnet Books is a bookstore in Minnesota. The only Black-owned, brick and mortar bookstore in the state, it operated as a pop-up for a year before receiving a grant from the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, to open a physical location.
Establishment[edit]
Dionne Sims @OhDionne Minnesota doesn't have a black-owned bookstore. I think that's my new dream.
June 15, 2020[1]
In June 2020, University of Minnesota graduate Dionne Sims discovered that there were no Black-owned bookstores in the state of Minnesota while researching ways to support the Black community after the murder of George Floyd.[2] (Ancestry Books, a Black-owned bookstore in Minnesota, closed in 2015.[2] Other Black-owned book businesses, such as Mind's Eye Comics and Babycake's Book Stack, do not have brick and mortar bookstore locations.[3]) After Sims posted a tweet expressing her desire to start a Black-owned bookstore in the state, the tweet received more than 14,000 likes,[4] and she began a crowdfunding campaign for the bookstore on July 10. By July 12, the campaign had raised more than $81,000.[2] Overall, she raised more than $108,000 in the campaign using GoFundMe.[4]
In 2021, Black Garnet Books operated as a pop-up.[5] Sims told the Star Tribune that funds raised from the crowdfunding campaign helped to cover the startup costs and pay for inventory but that they did not cover construction of a physical bookstore space. Also in 2021, Saint Paul City Councilor Mitra Jalali provided Sims with information about a Neighborhood STAR grant, and she received a $100,000 grant from the city of Saint Paul to renovate and open a location at Hamline Station in the Midway neighborhood.[5][6] The 1,800 square feet (170 m2) space opened in October 2022.[7]
Sims intentionally focused on making her store's space accessible, including waiting for a space that had an accessible restroom and no stairs, in addition to interior design elements that make it easier for someone using a wheelchair, as one example, to navigate.[8]
Purpose[edit]
Black Garnet Books was planned to focus on Black authors and other diverse authors, and to stock books for adults and young adults to avoid competition with Babycake's Book Stack, a bookmobile in Saint Paul, Minnesota, focused on diverse children's literature.[2] Sims told Mpls.St.Paul in 2020 that she wanted the bookstore to be "a place people can go for self-empowerment" through "education, connection, [and] the pursuit of knowledge".[4]
In 2023, Sims told the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder that every single book carried in the store is by Black, Indigenous, or other people of color.[9]
Activity[edit]
In November 2021, Black Garnet Books began a book drive on Bookshop.org to donate copies of The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story to schools in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. As of December 14, 2021[update], the drive had drawn more than 700 donations.[5]
The store has hosted book-related events, such as author meet-and-greets, and non-book events such as speed dating and art fairs.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ Dionne Sims [@OhDionne] (June 15, 2020). "Minnesota doesn't have a black-owned bookstore. I think that's my new dream" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d Jackson, Zoë (July 20, 2020). "St. Paul woman looks to launch the only Black-owned bookstore in Minnesota". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2020-07-12. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ Reilly, Mark (December 15, 2021). "Black Garnet Books will open space on University Avenue in St. Paul". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c Bloomquist, Madison (November 9, 2020). "Why Dionne Sims Started Black Garnet Books, Minnesota's Only Black-Owned Bookstore". Mpls.St.Paul. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c Raemont, Nina (December 14, 2021). "Black Garnet Books Finds a Home in St. Paul". Mpls.St.Paul. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ Jackson, Zoë (December 27, 2021). "Black Garnet Books to open in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood in 2022". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
- ^ Maya, Cynthia (2022-10-19). "Black Garnet Books Now Open in St. Paul's Midway Neighborhood". Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
- ^ "Black Garnet Books Builds Inclusion into Its St. Paul Bookstore". Streets.mn. 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
- ^ a b Juhn, Chris (2023-07-06). "Black Business Spotlight: Black Garnet Books". Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Retrieved 2023-11-11.