SILVER SPRING, Md. — A local minority-owned bookstore with locations in D.C. and Maryland are turning to the community for help to keep their doors open. Loyalty Books, in Petworth and Silver Spring, has launched on online fundraiser with the goal to raise $60,000 in hopes of paying down debts, launching a book mobile and addressing security concerns at the Silver Spring store.
According to owners Christine Ballow and Hannah Oliver Depp, Loyalty is independently owned dedicated to selling books by queer, trans and nonbinary, and BIPOC authors. The owners say they have seen a rise in anti-queer sentiment and transphobia during Drag Story Hours at their stores.
Earlier this year, a clash between Proud Boys and Drag Story Hour supporters turned physical outside the Silver Spring location.
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"We’re concerned for the safety and well-being of our customers — and also our staff, who are the beating heart of our stores. Our staff is mostly queer and people of color, some of whom are disabled and neurodivergent. It is time for us to focus on stable growth, safety, and moving our mission forward rather than just surviving," the owners said on their fundraising page.
"While the community wonderfully supports us and puts themselves on the line, we want to invest in further safety and training for staff for the long term as well," they said.
In addition to addressing safety concerns, Ballow and Depp say the funds will go toward launching a book mobile to bring books to schools and festivals around the DMV, as well as establishing a fund in case of emergencies, such as recent flooding at the Petworth store.
While Loyalty was among the DMV bookstores to experience a surge in sales of anti-racist reading material in 2020, the owners say the interest has swung downward, and the pandemic pushed them into "survival mode."
RELATED: Black-owned bookstores see surge in sales as people search for anti-racist reading materials
The owners say they hope the fundraiser will help bring stability to the store.
"Loyalty has always been a passion project sustained by community and sacrifice, but we hope to move it to stability in order to ensure the long term health of the store, its employees, and owners," they said.
The store is about halfway to its fundraising goal. For more information click here.