Down for miked up,
we love highlighting people and businesses
making an impact in the DC area.
Today Adam Longo introduces us
to two local entrepreneurs.
There are a couple running
one of the few black-owned
independent bookstores in our area.
Take a look.
It's one of our missions to
highlight great people doing
wonderful things in the community.
We're along Good Hope
Rd here in Southeast DC,
and we're talking with the
owners of a very unique bookstore
inside. Come on in.
So after you pop on in,
it's actually the first store
right here on the left.
We're talking about mahogany books.
They've been in this location
for a couple of years now and
extremely celebrated store.
So Ramonda and Derek Young are
the owners of mahogany books.
And what was the purpose
behind you all opening this business?
Simply put, making black books
accessible was one of the primary
reasons we opened mahogany books.
A lot of times you can't find our stories
on the shelves of a lot of bookstores.
We've been able to just help
people connect with authors,
connect with other readers,
and have a sense of community.
We'd love to be able to look around.
Is that cool? Definitely do it.
There were so many people, especially me.
When I was growing up in Oklahoma,
I didn't have access to black
books until I went to college.
And so for us, making black books
accessible no matter where you live is
something that's vital to us because
we know the importance of the history,
we know the importance of learning
about the triumphs and also the
tragedies that come from the black
experience is pivotal for everybody.
I was going to say just
for the black community,
but it's pivotal for everybody.
The conversation,
well for Monday night was that
with her being from Oklahoma
and not having access to books.
Me being here from DC and.
Always have an access to books.
We realize that not everyone
is as privileged as I am or
if this community was in
having access to black books.
Hypothetically speaking,
if you were standing in front
of somebody whose kids you know
didn't really want to read,
you said that your mom was a big influence,
got you and and and your family to read.
How would we do that?
I'm a comic nerd.
I love my comic books.
I love my sci-fi action.
So the first thing that I do when kids
come in here is I walk them to one
of my favorite sections in the store,
which is our comic books and
graphic novel section.
And what we do here is we emphasize
and prioritize comic characters that
are from across African diaspora.
So whether it's Black Panther,
whether it's Miles Morales,
I want to make sure that.
I capture kids attention.
One of my favorite things is
to give them like a mouse,
moralist shockwaves, or.
And this is a great book by Jason Reynolds,
a local author here, Stunt Boy.
So again, I tell parents it
doesn't matter if it's comic book,
doesn't matter if it's a graphic novel,
if this kid is going to open
up the book on their own.
That's what you want to give up.
What do you think it would have done for
you if you were in elementary school,
middle school,
high school and having that access?
I had to read about characters.
Didn't that didn't reflect who I was?
And so there was this kind of
disconnect when I read their stories.
I didn't feel like it was about
me. I mean,
it's the ultimate self esteem boost.
I mean, if you've never seen
someone that looks like you,
that accomplished great things,
how can you ever believe that
you can actually do those things?
But growing up and seeing those
other pictures of normalcy
would have been crucial for me.
I would have felt like I
could have done anything.
And that's what we have on our shelves,
books that talk about their great
accomplishments of black people,
the great triumphs
of things that we've experienced
and it's and still overcome.
Wow. This is a very,
very cool and and very happy to
see this couple kind of take their
mission and be able to be the change
that they want to see out there.
Yeah. Ramona and Derek Young,
I mean they're they're doing
spectacular things here.
So since 2007, their bookstore,
mahogany books was available online.
They opened that physical location
there in 2017 and they have another
one that's open in National Harbor.
So the first one that we went to
is on Good Hope Rd in Southeast.
You know, it it it it struck me and
it provided a good lesson for me
on a couple of different levels.
The first of which is how important
it is to see people who.
Look like you not just in books but,
you know, as a creator,
as a producer, as a reporter.
And the stories that I do, you know,
we, I think during this show have
done a fantastic job highlighting
people of all ethnicities,
all genders, all races,
people who come from everywhere.
And it's important to continue doing
that because the next entrepreneur
needs to be able to see themselves
on TV to be able to inspire that.
And, you know,
and and it makes me think, you know,
looking back in in our generation,
the TV shows I was watching,
where were the black characters?
You know, it, it made me think about.
Now,
you know,
I just took for granted that
there were characters everywhere
that that looked like me,
that that that I could look up to.
One of the things that I want
to mention here that that Derek
mentioned is as an aside to this,
is that I've been falling
into this trap with my kids.
They read graphic novels, right?
So they're just just getting into reading.
And now we're trying to push
them to get into other books.
And they're sort of hesitant
and sort of standoffish to that.
And there's like, look,
as long as they're picking up a book,
if it's a graphic novel,
if that's what they're going
to read for a couple of years,
it's OK as long as they're picking up
the book and getting in that habit.
That's the habit that you want
your kids to get into.
So I took that to heart and took
that home and I said graphic novels,
which is fine, by the way. The answer
is on BET that's where all the black
hair? Yeah, right there,
there, there just weren't many.
Alright, listen.
Great stories, great people.
That's what we do.
We're looking for the next great story to do.
Reach out to me on social media
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