Indie bookstores provide readers with information, relief amid ICE surge
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Months after it launched this fall, XIA Books and Café in St. Paul closed its doors for about three weeks in January because ICE agents' regular presence along University Avenue made customers and staff fear for their safety.
The bookstore has since reopened, owners say, as an act of resistance. XIA, which is run by the Asian Economic Development Association (Aeda), specializes in books by Asian Americans.
“Storytelling and owning our narrative and our history and our culture is important as a way to stand against what's happening now,” says Aeda CEO Va-Megn Thoj. “Our culture is a strength, and I feel like all the books that we have here, the bookstore is a source of strength for our community.”
Across the Twin Cities and beyond, many independent bookstores have been go-to spaces for readers seeking connection, information, and escape.
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“First and foremost, folks are looking for community and solidarity,” says Victoria Ford, owner of Comma, a bookshop in Minneapolis. She says her store has become an informational hub for people looking to connect with volunteer efforts or donate to support people detained or targeted by ICE.
Every bookstore is different, but many of the stores in the Twin Cities offer whistles and “Know Your Rights” information as well as anti-ICE art made by local artists.
Two kinds of reading
As for books, there are two types of requests: books to help people understand what’s happening in the country and books to provide a momentary escape.
“We're selling a lot of ‘Surviving Autocracy’ by [journalist] Masha Gessen” for people seeking political context, says Ford, “... and lots of ‘The Elsewhere Express’ by Samantha Sotto Yambao,” for those who need a mental break.
“I have ordered in new copies of ‘1984’ and [Timothy Snyder’s nonfiction work] ‘On Tyranny’ because so many people requested them,” says Anna Smith of Garden Party Books, a used bookstore in Rochester.
Many of the bookstores surveyed reported ordering extra copies of George Orwell’s dystopian fiction novel, “1984,” which involves a government that commands citizens to reject the evidence of their eyes and ears. Readers saw echoes of that approach when the federal government released narratives of the fatal shootings of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti that were not supported by videos recorded at the scenes.
Nor are the desires to lean in and lean away mutually exclusive, says Rima Parikh of The Thinking Spot in Wayzata. “Sometimes it’s the same people on different days” requesting each kind of title. Parikh described both heartwarming community support and heartbreaking reports of customers “hunkering down” to protect themselves from federal agents.
Talking to and supporting children
With Minneapolis, St. Paul and other districts offering a virtual option for children whose families don’t feel safe getting them to school, parents are turning to bookstore offerings for support, just as they did during the COVID lockdown. Activity kits and fidgets are popular requests, in addition to reading materials in English and Spanish.
“We're seeing the demand for Spanish books from educators and neighbors and community members who know people who are sheltering in place and have this need,” said Mallory Hayes of Red Balloon Bookshop, a children’s bookstore in St. Paul. “It's friends and coworkers and bosses of people who are too afraid to leave their homes who are coming in to purchase books for these families.”
Red Balloon and kids’ bookstore Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis are both holding book drives of gently used donations and purchased books to support local schools.
As families look to help children understand [and process] what’s happening, no one book meets every need. Popular picture book titles to help children process feelings include “Sarah Rising” by Ty Chapman, “The Rabbit Listened” by Cori Doerrfeld, “Most People” by Michael Leannah and “Something Happened to My Dad” by Ann Hazzard and Vivianna Aponte Rivera.
Partnering with writers
On Saturday, Feb. 28, two dozen bookstores across the state will partner with more than four dozen writers to host Authors for Minnesota Day. The series of readings will raise funds for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota Immigrant Rapid Response Fund.
For readers in Northfield, Content Bookstore is assembling a poetry chapbook, “Words to Meet the Moment,” gathered from a reading of the same name hosted in January. Those sales will benefit the Northfield Community Action Center.
