Support of bookshop 'means the world', founder says
D PambenA Brighton bookshop specialising in books by black authors says the support of customers "truly means the world" after a successful campaign to sell 1,000 books by the end of April.
Carolynn Bain founded Afrori in 2020 in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, before a crowdfunding campaign led to the opening of a physical shop, which Bain says is "not just a bookshop - it's a community".
She previously encouraged people to support Afrori by buying a book, otherwise fearing the shop may not be able to stay open.
"People have forgotten about us a little bit," she told BBC Radio Sussex presenter Kamilah McInnis.
A post on social media by Afrori Books said at the end of the month it had "smashed" the target.
"We are beyond grateful for each and every one of you that liked, shared, commented and bought a book," it said. "Your support truly means the world."
When people ask Bain what she does for a living, she tells them: "I'm changing the world, because that's what reading can do."
She says reading "widens our landscapes, opens up horizons for us, makes us see the parts of the world that we can't reach".
As a result, it can change people's views, she adds.
"It's the choir that meets here, the black hair education workshops, the foster carers who visit for a cup of tea, and the people who come in looking for a safe space," she added.
"All those people who find a sanctuary with us."
'Can I just sit here for a minute?'
As well as facing rising costs and a challenging economic landscape, book shops are facing competition from online retailers.
Bain says that having a physical shop creates a "safe space", especially for people of colour.
"We get people who come in and say 'can I just sit here for a minute? Someone's just said something to me or I've just had an experience and I just need a moment to gather my thoughts'," she said.
D PambenRonke, who is a member of the choir at Afrori and regularly visits the bookshop, says that as a black woman in Brighton she feels "tolerated, not accepted".
She says Afrori feels like "one of the only safe places" for people of colour in the city.
"If it didn't exist, I would feel much less seen and heard," Ronke says.
Several other groups and spaces across Brighton describe themselves as offering safe spaces for people of colour.
