BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Frugal Bookstore, a bookstore in Nubian Square in Roxbury, is empowering its community through representation and a love of reading.
Owner Leonard Egerton said that his store is about more than just reading; it’s about accessibility and representation.
Growing up in this neighborhood, Egerton said, “There was not a bookstore in our community like this… we had to go outside, downtown, Brookline, Brighton, or wherever to go to a bookstore.”
He explained, “It’s a given in most communities that there’s a bookstore,” but it was not something he knew as a kid.
Now, with Frugal Bookstore, Egerton said, “We’re able to provide a whole community with stories about them, written by them, and for children, so that they can see themselves because that makes a big difference, I think, in children’s lives.”
Frugal Bookstore is the only Black-owned bookstore in Boston, and they are committed to highlighting stories and books by people of color to reflect the community that the store is a part of.
“With us being here, we’re able to provide a short walk [or] a short bus ride to a place where you can come and get lost in stories [and] pictures that are reminiscent of” the community in Roxbury, said Egerton.
“When children come here, they get to see themselves in the books," shared Egerton.
Frugal Bookstore’s motto aptly reflects these ideas: “Changing minds one book at a time.”
WBZ NewsRadio's Carl Stevens (@CarlWBZ) reports.
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