MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A bookstore in Memphis aims to improve child literacy one novel at a time.
One former teacher opened the store after he noticed how limited reading material was for African-American children in schools.
"Being functionally illiterate is a thing, however, it should not be and in Shelby County, our literacy rates are extremely low. Not only because of access, but because of content," Jeremy DeMoir said.
It can be even harder with limited resources, which is why DeMoir opened the city's only Black-owned brick-and-mortar bookstore, DeMoir Books & Things.
It caters to everyone, no matter the age. However, DeMoir said he wanted to really provide African-American youth with reading material that they may not easily find elsewhere.
"I spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars buying books for my classroom library and realized that I could make it bigger," he explained. "What about the other children in the community? What about the other children in the city?"
The store has every genre you can think of from fiction to comics.
There are also more than 5,000 books in the store, most of which DeMoir and his team found.
"Independent bookstores have it differently. We aren't funded by franchises or big corporations and so all of it comes from us to us," he said. "That's the whole thing about being a community, it's being there for the next person ... so trying to make sure we do that."
To make it all as convenient as possible, people can buy books in-store.
There are also local delivery options for both national and international customers. DeMoir, who's also an author, said this is his way of giving back.
"We do have 18 branches of libraries in the city, but a lot of times with certain schools, they're a little too far for the kids. Maybe their parents don't have transportation so the kids can get there," he said. "It's easier to get a book into a child's hands if they have more access to them. That's kind of where we came in. In a city that's predominately 68% African-American, we are the stable for the community."
DeMoir said it was vital that he included books from other local authors in the store and offer community book clubs, book signings and movie nights.
"We also offer a literacy program, so any child from 0-17, if they walk into the store, they don't leave empty-handed. They get a free book regardless if they purchase one or not. That's another way to promote book accessibility. It takes nothing to give a child escapism," he explained.
To help keep DeMoir Books & Things thriving, you can click here to donate. You can also keep up with what they have going on here.