‘Like I belong’: how an Inglewood library became a safe space for Black readers
The Salt Eaters Bookshop centers culture and community in every element, quickly becoming a literary haven for its patrons
Asha Grant sits on a church pew near a table covered in vintage magazines. In the months leading up to the opening of the Salt Eaters Bookshop, she sourced the pew online from a soon-to-be shuttered church and the coffee table belonged to her grandmother.
Grant says she wanted the Inglewood, California, bookstore to be imbued with a sense of home and inclusion. Bright pink wallpaper with a pattern of Zora Neale Hurston adds a pop of color, and upon entering, there's a mirror with photos of Grant's maternal grandmother and great-aunt. A quilt draped behind the pew was a community project and allowed people to donate denim and stitch it together.
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