Ida B. Wells Photo: Public domain/Sallie E. Garrity
A steep rent hike can be the death knell for a small business. That seemed like it might be the fate of Ida’s Bookshop, a woman- and minority-owned store in Collingswood, whose landlord raised the rent last January.
Situated along busy Haddon Avenue, the 3-year-old Ida’s is named after journalist and activist Ida B. Wells (pictured above) and features works by female and minority authors, artists and activists.
When owner Jeannine Cook posted the store’s dire situation on social media early this year, asking for help via GoFundMe, over 300 customers rallied to save the business. She raised $23,000 in under a week, helping the store stay open for the foreseeable future.
“We are staying as long as the creek don’t rise,” Cook says with a laugh.
The bookstore is a place for the community to come together, she says. “When you step inside, you’re invited to travel through time and see the world through both a historical and current lens. Our books provide the common language for us to have important conversations, ask questions, challenge each other safely, critically think about what we want for ourselves and our society—and then leave better for it.”
Cook also owns Harriett’s Bookshop in Philadelphia (named after Harriet Tubman, with an intentional extra T in the store’s name) and Josephine’s Bookshop in Paris (named for Josephine Baker), both of which also celebrate works by women and minorities.
[RELATED: Indie Bookstores Are Making a Comeback in New Jersey]
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