This Black History Month, Black book lovers from all over the country can get a free book of their choice from A Room of One’s Own Bookstore.
The Madison-based bookstore is reviving the 2020 initiative Books for Black Bookish Wonders, which was started by their social media and marketing manager, Misian Taylor.
Taylor started Books for Black Bookish Wonders during the height of the 2020 uprisings that emerged in response to George Floyd’s murder.
“It just felt like I was watching a lot of friends not being able to relax in a state of hypervigilance [from] all of the stress and the worry and the white supremacist terrorism,” they recalled. “And I was like, ‘What if I could give books away?’ [I know] it doesn’t fix anything, but it’s what I had access to. And I could use my discount, so money could go further.”
The first iteration of the project, which Taylor organized by themself, raised and redistributed $3,000 worth of books.
Books for Black Bookish Wonders centers participants’ agency in choosing what they want to receive and shies away from the charity model that pay-it-forward initiatives often take on. “I’ve always appreciated the spirit of [these initiatives] but I think that they’re a little misdirected or misinformed,” Taylor said. “Being able to talk to people, ask what they need, and seeing if you can get together the resources to provide that is just an exciting project to figure out.”
The program’s revival came at the suggestion of Tarah Strangler of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s BIPOC Coalition. Since its revival last week, the project has raised over $5,800 and the bookstore has processed 201 orders and shipped 115 of them so far, Taylor said.
Support from the community has been overwhelmingly positive, which Taylor has been very grateful for.
“It’s really cool to know that people have this on their calendar and they’re thinking about it in terms of their pay schedule, because a lot of times with these initiatives, there’s a big burst of generosity at the start and then people get less interested,” they said. “So it’s really encouraging that people are like ‘Oh yeah, I’m gonna give all of my next paycheck, I’m so glad you’re doing this for the rest of the month.’ It really is exciting to think about how many books we’re going to be able to get out this month.”
Books for Black Bookish Wonders follows a long line of successful programs that Taylor has been able to roll out through Room to support the Madison community and beyond. Two years ago, Room participated in the national initiative Bookstores Against Borders, which raised $110,000 for immigration advocacy organization RAICES. The bookstore also rolled out Full Hearts Full Bellies during Thanksgiving of 2020, which helped to pay off student lunch debt in Madison public schools.
“I try to find ways to redistribute what I have access to,” Taylor said. “I’m a big believer that we have more than enough to meet all the needs in our community but that resources aren’t evenly or equitably distributed, so being able to redistribute those resources and meet needs and meet desires and make people happy is awesome.”
Beyond the joy of receiving a new book, Taylor is inspired by the revolutionary potential that literature holds.
“I know that not everyone finds rest and relaxation through reading, but I know that it can be really soothing for me, just the act of reading, but also what books offer,” they said. “They offer us new ways of imagining our futures, new ways of imagining ourselves, new ways of understanding power structures and how to subvert them. So I feel like to me, books are a salve emotionally and physically. I just want people to enjoy it and be able to get away from the onslaught of terror and anti-Blackness in this country.”
A steady flow of donations is crucial for a project of this caliber to sustain itself, Taylor said. While Books for Black Bookish Wonders has been able to complete individual orders, it does not currently have the capacity to fulfill group orders.
“There have been teachers who have emailed me who have been like, ‘I would love to be able to get all the Black students in my class their own book’ and right now we don’t have the funds to cover projects that large,” Taylor explained. “But there’s obviously a need and we would love to be able to fill it.”
While programs like Books for Black Bookish Wonders is a great start, Taylor hopes to see sustained, industry-wide change when it comes to anti-Black efforts, especially those that span well beyond Black History Month.
“I know bookstores are just stores that sell books but they feel like important community centers and I just think that bookstores have an obligation to do more than just sell books,” Taylor said. “Historically, bookstores have been so white-owned [and because of this] maybe Black folks and POC might not feel comfortable working there. [I want bookstores] to be a safe place where they can employ readers of color and Black readers because we need more Black people and people of color in bookselling.”
“We need more folks in all levels of publishing but I also want them to consider everything that they have access to and if they’re doing anything good for their own community,” Taylor continued. “Like, are you being proactive? Are you investing back into your community? Are you making sure that you’re a safe, comfortable, and happy place for all readers in your community?”
Books for Black Bookish Wonders continues to accept donations via A Room of One’s Own’s website. Those interested can purchase $30 credits (equivalent to one book order) towards the program. Donations should be made in $30 increments to ensure that orders can be adequately fulfilled. Those interested in receiving a free book from this project can fill out a Google request form here.
