October 21st 2023.
Tamika Thompson, the founder and owner of Beyond This February bookshop, is a book-loving mom who wanted to change how the next generation of Black children sees themselves represented in books. Her online bookstore is a place where people can find Black stories 365 days a year, as well as pop-up sales for readers of all ages.
Thompson remembered that there were a good number of Black narratives in bookstores during February for Black History Month. However, after that, she found the lack of black stories to be inspiring, leading to the naming of her bookstore. She also recalled that it was hard to find herself and her children represented in literature. Even when she did, the stories weren't culturally relevant to her, leading her to draw the characters to look like her in books she owned.
Thompson had the same issue when she had children of her own. She found that many books featuring Black characters were often centered around trauma or some sort of historical prevalence. She said, "As a mother, I still experienced the same situation with my own children in finding books that were relevant to them – and here we are in the 2020s, and it was still pulling teeth to get stories that weren't trauma-based.”
Thompson is not planning to launch a brick-and-mortar location for her bookstore. Instead, she is focusing on her online presence and pop-up sales for readers of all ages to find the books they need and want. Hopefully, her efforts will help the next generation of Black children to see themselves better represented in books.
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