TAMPA, Fla. — A brand-new bookstore is opening in the Tampa Heights neighborhood in a few days, and Spectrum Bay News 9 got a sneak peek inside.

What You Need To Know

  • 98% of the books in the store are African American or Black authored books

  • The Black English bookstore opens this Saturday in the historic Tampa Heights neighborhood at 401 East Oak Ave. in Tampa

  • The store is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Black English, the new Black-owned bookstore, is the brainchild of Tampa City Council member Gwen Henderson. It’s an idea Henderson came up with when she realized the need for more representation in showcasing Black literature.

No matter where you look, you can’t miss the culture and diversity on the bookshelves at her shop.

“Ninety-eight percent of the books are African American or Black-authored books,” Henderson said. “People are going to enter this store maybe thinking about a book and then taking other books into consideration that they haven’t thought about, which all is housed in one location.”

Henderson, a Tampa native, said this was all part of her plan when she dreamed up the Black English bookstore in Tampa Heights.

“I am an educator, so everything I do is gonna stem from that background even in city council,” she said. “I come from a teacher’s perspective. And so the programming that exists for this bookstore is designed that way for our organizations to be the driving force behind children entering this space or books being taken to them.”

Henderson said when one of Black owned bookstore in town closed down over 10 years ago, she knew she had to do something.

“We’ve been needing this. When Felica Winston passed away in 2009, she passed away, but our bookstore went with her in Temple Terrace. And I know it’s going to work because I would drive to her store just for the experience,” she said.

So Henderson looked to the experts. Those experts just happened to be her high school students, who she taught in an entrepreneurship class.

“I decided, 'Let me do the assignment with you all and I’m gonna create a bookstore,'” she said. “So I pitched my store to teenagers. And that’s kinda scary, girl, because they have an opinion.”

She said the name of the store came to her while she was reading.

“So, the New York Times reprinted James Baldwin’s essay, and this was the title of the essay: If Black English isn’t a language, then tell me what is. You know so, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, the name of my bookstore is Black English,'” she said.

In her bookstore, banned books don’t exist.

“I don’t have to play a narrative that someone else has decided this book is not worthy,” Henderson said. “And it’s just so sad, especially when you look at the choices. There’s some tough books out there and parents should know what their children are reading, but banning a book about 'I love my hair' is ridiculous.”

At the Black English bookstore, Henderson said everyone is welcome, especially those who are curious and want to support an indie bookstore.

“I’m building the store that I want to go to,” Henderson said.