NC’s first Black-owned children’s bookstore now open in Raleigh: ‘A lot of reflection’
After Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, bookstore owner Victoria Scott-Miller started noticing it becoming heavily commercialized. The stores around her became filled with anything from Juneteenth-themed T-shirts to red, green and black ice pops.
To bring back the holiday’s true message as a day of reflection and celebration, Scott-Miller decided to open North Carolina’s first Black-owned children’s bookstore — Liberation Station — during Juneteenth weekend.
“This cannot get lost in the mix, we have to acknowledge the fact that Juneteenth is a moment for not only reflection but a moment in which we are able to know,” she said. “This is when information became available to our people that they were free.”
Liberation Station, which opened Saturday in downtown Raleigh, was started by Scott-Miller and her husband, Duane Miller, as a way to create a space where Black children and adults can see themselves in literature. Every book is written by a Black author and read by the duo and their two children, Emerson and Langston, before it is put in the store.
The opening’s timing brings awareness to the fact that historically Black people haven’t always been able to freely make a decision to read.
“It is a moment of rebellion,” she said. “You haven’t always had a choice to have these (resources) readily available at your fingertips. Now that you do, we hope that you choose. We hope that you are able to be inspired in that it’s able to take up space.”
What types of books are available?
The bookstore is organized by age, with books for the youngest readers on the lower shelves and those for older readers on the higher shelves. The books are also arranged by type, which Scott-Miller said is a story in itself.
On the left side of the store is the Diaspora wall, where books follow the voyage of the Transatlantic map, and on the right is the America wall.
“We wanted to showcase how our stories are connected,” she said. “That the displacement did not begin when we came to America. The interconnectedness of our people was abruptly dispersed without our permission and sometimes without our knowledge.”
Toward the front of the store is the Banned Book Section, which showcases literature banned across the nation. In the middle of the store is the Anchor Section, which pairs adult and children titles. Books like Marion Dane Bauer’s “Stuff of Stars” are paired with Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Cosmic Queries” and Bell Hooks’ “All About Love” is paired with “Homemade Love.” Scott-Miller said this section was designed to foster an intergenerational conversation between children and their caretakers.
“The things amplified in their world are also the things we have to compartmentalize,” she said. “I wasn’t taught to love my hair, there was no text that was readily available that talked about braids (or) told me to love my size. What this section says is that although our narratives were different, we can somehow learn from one another.”
Where is the Liberation Station Bookstore located?
Liberation Station is at 208 Fayetteville St., in downtown Raleigh. It shares an entrance with the Original Selfie Museum and is on the second floor. Parking is available on the street and in nearby parking garages, such as the Alexander Square deck.
Additional questions?
More information about the Liberation Station can be found here: https://liberationstationbookstore.com/. You can also email liberationstationbookstore@gmail.com with questions.
“We are not fast food, we are not Amazon,” Scott-Miller said. “This is a lot to process for a lot of people and we want to be able to walk through that process with you. A lot of reflection is going to happen in this space.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
