Just a year after opening online, Afrori Bookshop will be opening its actual doors on Tuesday 26th October 2021 in Kensington St, North Laine.
The crowdfunding campaign aimed to raise £10,000 to fit out the premises at Lighthouse’s charity in the Laines. In just 4 weeks (a week ahead of schedule) the team met the target and the campaign closed on 8th October, having raised a total of £12,460. The charity said: “We can’t think of a better way to occupy the Lighthouse space, than for it to become a home to the only Black-owned bookshop for Black authors in Brighton.”
Carolynn Bain, founder said: “I am completely blown away by the love the public has shown to our dream of making Brighton an anti-racist city. The night we hit the target I sobbed: I was so overwhelmed.”
The crowdfund attracted a lot of attention from the public and the media. The crowd funding video was shared hundreds of times across social media and was featured on ITV, BBC and multiple other press outlets. They even took over a key social media account for publishing giant Penguin. Afrori was named bookshop of the month by Brighton based Damian Barr literary salon and a top ten start up to watch identified by Business Live.
Afrori bookshop aims to be a community space drawing in authors and young creatives from across Sussex and nationwide. They have plans for creative writing evenings, a book club, children’s story times, training to help teachers integrate diverse books into classrooms and much more.
Ms Bain and her team are also committed to employing ‘the unemployable’ on a fair wage and are seeking staff from marginalised groups who have found it difficult to find employment.
For the next few weeks, it is all go with the shop fitting and stocking taking place at the moment. Team member, Ysabel, said: “This is the best kind of busy.”
Afrori’s mission statement is: ‘Support black authors. Create diverse bookshelves. Be a voice against injustice.’
Carolynn said: “Changing the way people read is fundamental to affecting their outlook and reading habits for life, and it is through reading that we can have the greatest impact on attitudes to racism in the future. Afrori Books is changing the world, one book at a time.”
Afrori bookshop opens in Kensington Street, North Laine on Tuesday 26 October.