Photo: Carl Stevens/WBZ NewsRadio
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.
Photo: Carl Stevens/WBZ NewsRadio
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.
Photo: Carl Stevens/WBZ NewsRadio
“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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