A large-scale painting of the late Danny Agnew hangs on the back wall of the 750-square-foot space of the Roots Bookstore located along the iconic 15th Avenue Corridorin Liberty City. Inside the store, a few people, including his brothers Phillip and Cameron and their dad Barney, gathered inside placing books onto the shelves ahead of the store’s Juneteenth opening.
For years before his untimely death in a car accident, the late Danny Agnew had been conjuring up the idea for a bookstore. He’d come back home from his native Chicago with “a ton of books” and would speak it into existence: “He was like, ‘Man, I want to do a bookstore,’” partner Isaiah Thomas told the Herald. At the time, their nonprofit Roots Collective, which was founded by Danny Agnew, his brother Phillip and Thomas, was located at the Blackhouse on Seventh Avenue, and only had one shelf with books. “We didn’t have the space back then, but that moment planted the seed.”
Now, two years after Agnew’s death, Phillip Agnew and Thomas opened up the storefront in Liberty City, with at least 2,000 books for sale, including several copies of “Their Eyes Are Watching God,” “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,” and “The Bluest Eye,” other books recently banned from Florida’s classrooms and school libraries. Visitors can find books from indigenous and Hispanic authors as well as local authors inside the bookstore, which will also sell food and Roots Collective merchandise in the coming months.
Thomas emphasized the store is a labor of love from community members and volunteers who helped raise more than $12,000 of their $14,000 goal. “I think our community gets confused and brainwashed with this ‘self-made’ concept, but Roots, this bookstore, is highlighting what community really looks like when we come together for a big purpose,” he said.
‘They’re planting seeds’
The three friends met more than a decade ago when Thomas, a Miami native, was feeding the homeless during the holidays. Danny and Phillip Agnew showed up to help and the trio clicked instantly. The brothers often referred to Thomas as the “other Agnew.” Coincidentally, Phillip Agnew and Thomas had just missed each other at their alma mater, FAMU, with Phillip Agnew being a senior when Thomas was a freshman…