Black Lives Matter and Bookstores: Purposeful Purchases
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Rayshard Brooks. The latest names in the ongoing tragedy that is police violence against Black Americans. “Something feels different about this moment,” people routinely say. During a global pandemic, when our usual distractions and routines no longer draw our attention, the increased visibility of racial injustice and subsequent political outcry has struck a larger percentage of the bystander public.
Two directives have snowballed into mini-cultural movements: the calls to support local Black businesses and to educate oneself by reading anti-racist literature. Black indie bookstores are now receiving a surge of interest. These are operations are now fielding hundreds of orders a day. Invoices are piling up. I bought two books that were on backorder for two weeks before I received the email confirming that they had been shipped.
Many bookstore owners have spoken out, saying they are happy for the business. Historically speaking, their existence has always been precarious and the pandemic’s mandatory shutdowns resulted in another curb on revenue. Yet this recent boon has resulted in mixed feelings. Business is good, but only on the heels of more bodies in the streets. These surges of goodwill tend to follow when there are bodies in the streets. Owners worry that this interest in their literature may only be a fleeting one. The literary uptick could be no more than a trend responding to a tumultuous flashpoint, the latest in a line of feel-good, informative but ultimately low-effort practices through which the privileged perform allyship.
How long before the sales return to pre-police violence numbers? Until Congress passes a sizeable enough criminal justice bill? Until the November election? Until another competing news story (e.g. the rapid spread of the coronavirus) diverts mass attention?
Whether bookstores can maintain consumer buy-in over longer stretches of time is an open question. Whatever window of opportunity they may possess, their goal should be to build more genuine consumer buy-in. These businesses have to balance the customer’s emotional needs with the moral demands of the antiracist movement.
As individuals, we do have a desire to be part of something large than ourselves. It’s psychologically rewarding. Many white Americans appalled by these injustices have searched for networks outside of their own where they can direct their money and energy. Black-owned bookstores have an opportunity to present that network to curious consumers. Bookstores can partner with various activist and criminal justice organization, hosting links to information on their sites. A portion of proceeds can go towards supporting other groups like local mutual aid organizations, bail funds, trans rights organizations, distributing the fruits of that spending more broadly. Include other calls to action—petitions, livestream events, protests—and bundle them into the digital storefront experience.
Buying and reading books is not radically transformative work in itself. Yet it can expose people to the histories, theories and visions necessary to understand what pain and what politics push so many to risk their safety demonstrating in the streets. Bookstores have to emphasize beyond the buying, show where they exist in relation to the other structures out here crafting a new world. For the buyer, the connection to the causes becomes more tangible. It slightly raises the stakes of what “ally” involvement can and should involve. Just because you may different colored skin doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have skin the game.