Money raised by community to support Black-owned bookstore in Maywood on brink of closure – NBC Chicago
Hundreds of books about Black culture, history and experience can be found on the shelves at Afriware Books in Maywood.
“We focus on those [books] that are culturally relevant to the Black experience, mainly because those are the books that changed my life,” said bookstore owner Nzingha Nommo.
Nommo told NBC Chicago she quit her job as an electrical engineer 30 years ago to open the independent bookstore in Oak Park before moving to Eisenhower Tower in Maywood.
“I was definitely on the fast track I was making lots of money,” she said about her career. “I quit my job to this—this passion.”
Her passion is to share and inspire others in the community to read and learn about Black history and culture and to find their identity.
“Just the joy that it brings to them lifts...