Store owner Victoria Scott-Miller opens up about her passion for literacy and the importance of fostering Black joy.
Reading is fundamental. And for Black children? Reading is not simply fundamental, it is necessary. In a world where they are too often ignored, underappreciated or misunderstood, Black children’s books offer a welcoming sense of pride, assurance and the ability to freely dream for our babies and young people.
The urgency to provide Black children’s books to our youth is even more apparent with recent book bans and DEI cuts. Wife, mother of two and children’s book author Victoria Scott-Miller recognized this urgency firsthand and decided to proactively do something about it. In June 2023, Scott-Miller opened her brick-and-mortar bookstore, Liberation Station, in the downtown section of Raleigh, North Carolina—an intentional selection, because Black people were once forbidden from checking out books in the area’s library.
But in September 2023, Scott-Miller began receiving death threats—online harassment, threatening phone calls related to Liberation Station. Understandably terrified, Scott-Miller closed the store to protect her and her family’s safety and peace of mind. The multi-hyphenate creator explains, “I want to be clear: we didn’t close because we were defeated. We closed because we were strategic. Because rest is resistance. Because sometimes you have to step back to step forward with more power.”…