The Poetry Fix News
| VOL. II, ISSUE 14 |
DC – we have a problem!
My beloved bookstore and second home has found itself on the endangered species list, and only the folks who love them can save them. Below is the email received by many members of Sisterspace and Books.
Peace and power to the people!!! Sisterspace and Books needs your prayers and your money. We are waiting for the arbitrator's decision. Will Sisterspace and Books be evicted? Or will Sisterspace and books be in a better position to purchase the building? During this stressful time we need lots of prayers and your financial support. This is the time to "put your mouth where your money is"!!! Sisterspace and Books herstory should speak for itself. To all the folks who claim to love Sisterspace and Books and Cassandra and Faye, NOW is the time to show your love and to share your money. We need $100,000 ... Yes, $100,000 by Tuesday. We believe in miracles. What the Universe will provide this time?
For those unaware of the herstory of Sisterspace and Books: The store has been around for nine years – six years at its current location (1515 U Street, NW ). To call it just a bookstore is like saying breathing is just taking in air. Sisterspace is this amazing oasis in the middle of the city. Faye Williams and Cassandra Burton (owners and angels) opened the store in testament to and celebration of black women. But any and everyone is welcomed there. Everything and anything you need you can find at this store. From the latest E. Lynn Harris novel to beautiful sterling silver jewelry to how to talk to girls about their periods to beautiful angel dolls. There is even a basket of condoms on the counter – in case you are not using that tried and true method, abstinence. Right! While the front of the store is filled to the brim with merchandise – the back room is filled in ways that are not apparent to the naked eye. In the span of one day that room can support a crystal healing workshop, a book club meeting, a sister circle, an author reading and a gallery opening for a local artist.
I have been volunteering at Sisterspace for three years, and I have seen all kinds of miracles and wonders. When I first started at the bookstore my friends use to mock me, “Michelle, how do you volunteer at a bookstore? What are you going to do next, volunteer at the grocery store?” But they quickly found out I was serious about lending a hand to this wondrous place. I am generally there every Saturday from 1:00 to 7:00 - barring a vacation or work obligation.
Folks often comment on the large commit of time. For me it’s only one day, six hours, and what was I going to do anyway – laundry? NOT!
I get so much in return, and my being there allows for Faye and Cassandra to attend to other things. For those who have read this far and are saying “What kind of miracles can you see in a bookstore? I didn’t see anything the last time I was in Borders.” First I say, “What the hell are you doing in Borders?” But I know for a fact you could never witness the following in Borders or any of those other big chain stores. It was a random Saturday and Faye and Cassandra was holding court at the front table. We were laughing about something or another - probably my saying something stupid like “Who is H. Rap Brown?” Well, a woman walks in. We greet her, ask if she needs anything and when she says she is just looking, we return to our laughfest. But Faye never fully took her attention off the woman. After about ten minutes Faye says “Sista, you alright?” The woman turns around and she is crying. Faye invites her to join our impromptu sister circle and for the next hour she shares what has her in tears in a bookstore. I was amazed on a several levels. That Faye was able to detect her trouble so easily and that the woman so easily laid down her burden. As she talked about her cheating boyfriend and hints of domestic violence we just listened. Before she left she received hugs from all of us and Faye gave her some resource information if she found herself unable to stay in her current situation.
This healing moment, along with hundreds of other moments like it, is what keeps me coming to and learning from that bookstore. Folks come in on a weekly basis to give testimony to how Sisterspace and Books has changed, and sometimes saved, their lives. The young woman who was back from Guatemala and had to come by to thank Faye for hosting the Peace Corp meeting that she attended and which provided a life changing opportunity.
She is now fluent in Spanish and focused on international concerns around the world. Or the little boys who come by looking for Ms. Faye and Ms. Cassandra on whom they can depend to buy M&Ms for their latest booster fundraisers. Or the uncanny way Cassandra seems to remember everyone’s name or at least what’s going on in their life. “So how is that daughter of yours doing in college?” “How did your father’s operation go? Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Can I give you a hug?”
And there’s Cassandra’s money-back guarantee on “Standing at the Scratch Line” I’ve seen her give more than a couple copies of that book away. She says, “If you like it come back and pay for it. If not, keep it.” I’m still young enough and steeped in the philosophy of never giving anything away for free that I often frowned at that. Cassandra would stroke my shoulder and say “Michelle, it’s only a book” Then one Saturday, three of the people who Cassandra had given the book to came in to pay. I was at the register and completed the transaction. I turned around and Cassandra was standing in the doorway of the meeting room. She just smiled. She spared me the “I told you so” and just chalked it up to my youth. Sorry, I’m still not giving away books but I do understand the lesson that the Universe will provide. I could tell tons more stories like these: after three years I have seen a little bit of everything at Sisterspace and Books.
But this is not just about my favorite bookstore. There are hundreds of independent bookstores all over the country that face the same fate, yearly. I think as conscious people we must make the decision that it’s more important to support these community gems than save five bucks at one of the superstores. Borders, Barnes and Noble, or Books-a-million will never reflect the diversity of the communities that they inhabit. Their job is to sell us what they think we want to buy not to open the market place to new ideas or authors. It’s about consumption (what’s on the New York Times Best Seller list) not education. I will stop here and get off my soapbox. But I do implore everyone who is reading The Poetry Fix this week to do something to assist this community institution. If you are in the DC metro area, come by the store and buy a book or drop off a donation. If you are out of state, send a donation or go by your local independent bookstore and buy a book or two or ten. But everyone send a prayer or positive vibes. Chant out their name in church or temple or simply wish them the best as they move through this difficult time. I, for one, know that if Sisterspace and Books doesn’t survive I will be losing a piece of my heart.
Michelle
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