BUFFALO, N.Y. — Books with brown faces are the order of the day at Alice Ever After in Buffalo. The store is part of a book drive working to turn the page on racism.
The book drive was started by the mother of Zaire Goodman, a Tops shooting survivor. The goal is to get books with more diversity into the hands of children and start the conversation early on race and acceptance.
Donations have poured in from across the country, but in Buffalo, you can purchase the books from Zaire's wishlist, which includes Buffalo authors like Desiree Williams and Alliah Agostini.
Owners say their mission is to make sure that any child walking in the store can see themselves reflected in a book or use it as a window into understanding someone else's story.
“I'm a mom too, you know, like, how do you start conversations with kids about anything?" said Meg Howe, owner of Alice Ever After. "It starts with a book very easily. So it's really... it's always been important for us to have diversity in the books here for the kids of Buffalo. I think it's it's one way to make our community stronger and better.”
You can purchase from Zaire's wishlist Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Organizers are also encouraging people to go to Zawadi Books on Jefferson Avenue to support Buffalo's only Black-owned book store.