Karibu Books in MD Says Farewell ~ 50% Off All Inventory

[Senusret I]

Well, I took an afternoon break and went out there with my mom and her coworker, LOLOLOL

Ran into an AKA from Rho Mu Omega.

Bought mostly non-fiction, including THREE from WEB DuBois. Bought Bill Clinton's "Giving." Can't remember the rest.

Was done, but then I turned to the right and saw some AKA and Zeta journals. Sorry AKAs, I bought the last two for my homies from Alpha and Beta Lambda. But Zetas, there were still notecards and journals there.

The customer service was still.....I dunno. I mean, I'm sad because they are about to lose their jobs, but the staff there was never very impressive to me in the first place. I wished them a sincere good luck.

[darling1]

this was a great book store!

[darling1]

it will always be pigeon plaza to me..lol

Originally Posted by Still BLUTANG

I will be buying out the Bowie town center location on my lunch break then, so you can get everything from PG Plaza... my bad, the "mall at prince georges"

[5Knowledge1913]

Another black business bites the dust.

[Ten/Four]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Well, I took an afternoon break and went out there with my mom and her coworker, LOLOLOL

You were really not playing about getting down there. I guess I'll have to get there tomorrow.

[Senusret I]

^^^ Y'all don't be knowing about me and bookstores! Ladies had BOXES of books leaving that jont.

And bus how this lady from Vertigo Books (not a black bookstore but might as well be) in College Park was peeping books, too. For those who didn't know, bookstores get books from distributors at usually a 60% discount, which is why running a bookstore is tough because there's a slim profit margin. For a bookstore to purchase their books from Karibu at half price, and then resell them at maybe an 80% discount, they're STILL making money.

[darling1]

i used to love vertigo bookstore back in the day. they can definitely reap the benefit from this loss.

it is a shame that this is happening. when borders closed, i was floored. i joked with one of the folks that there will probably be a sneaker store put up in its place.

somewhat off topic. there is a definite distinction between the malls that black people frequent and those that non-blacks frequent. its a shame.

Originally Posted by Senusret I

^^^ Y'all don't be knowing about me and bookstores! Ladies had BOXES of books leaving that jont.

And bus how this lady from Vertigo Books (not a black bookstore but might as well be) in College Park was peeping books, too. For those who didn't know, bookstores get books from distributors at usually a 60% discount, which is why running a bookstore is tough because there's a slim profit margin. For a bookstore to purchase their books from Karibu at half price, and then resell them at maybe an 80% discount, they're STILL making money.

[Ideal08]

Originally Posted by CrimsonTide4

I went to the Bowie one back in 2003 when Ideal08 worked there and got close to $200 worth of books. Good times! LOL

Those were good times. This is just one more thing that makes me miss the DC uhrea. (I'm NOT moving back, y'all, let it go, lol) I think about all the books I have that came from that store. *sigh*

My friend called me last night to tell me about this. I'm both sad and angry about it. Sad because B&N, Borders, etc cannot compete with the selection of AA literature that Karibu had. Oh, the back wall of children's books at the Bowie store. *sigh* I'm angry b/c I'm broke and can't take advantage of the sale. I'm angry at how this all came about. I'm angry because I had some books stolen that now I have to hope Amazon will have. Karibu is somewhere I went each time I visited DC. Now what?

We've (me and other past employees) have been emailing back and forth about this all day. I've been near tears about it. Lemme find the other article...

[Ideal08]

Black Readers Are Jolted by a Chain's Demise
Loss of Karibu, a Result Of Owners' Rift, Leaves A Hole in a Community

By Lonnae O'Neal Parker and Hamil R. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 24, 2008; A01

By early afternoon, word had spread and dozens of customers crowded the bookstore's aisles. One of the nation's largest black-owned bookstore chains, Karibu, will be closed by mid-February, and people brought their shock and sadness to Bowie Town Center, along with their checkbooks.

They pulled titles from the shelves: civil rights biographies, Harlem Renaissance classics. And they lamented.

Freddie Mills, a security officer who was scanning the aisles as his 2-year-old daughter played nearby, said he was "angry, angry, angry."

"Where are we going to get books for our kids?" he said.

This was more than a bookstore; it was community, it was "culture," Mills said. Urban-lit author Omar Tyree, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison and local bestselling erotica author Zane are among the many writers who have done signings for the stores.

"It's like the barbershop, like the black beauty salon," said co-owner Simba Sana. "It's a place where black people can come and lay their heads down."

Independent bookstores such as Karibu are closing across the country, often defeated by financial pressures from large chains and online superstores that sell discounted bestsellers or dwarf smaller stores with their size and marketing muscle.

But Sana said the closings were not caused by financial pressures. "Karibu's demise is a result of the ownership, including myself, failure to resolve conflict in a peaceful way and also a failure to end relationships amicably," he said.

He wouldn't elaborate, but a store manager said the owners disagreed on the direction of the chain.

"Simba wanted the company to go national," said Jonathan Robinson, who has managed the Bowie store, one of six in the chain, for two years. Co-owner Hoke "Brother Yao" Glover "felt it wasn't ready for that yet," Robinson said. He added that last fall, Sana's wife, Sunny, who bought books for the stores, abruptly left -- the two are divorcing -- and that customers began to notice that titles weren't coming in.

Glover could not be reached for comment.

"It's sad," Robinson said. "Two people called me, crying on the phone."

Christopher Chambers, a Silver Spring author and Georgetown University professor who has done readings and moderated panels at Karibu, which is pronounced ka-ree-boo and means "welcome" in Swahili, said he had received more than a dozen e-mails about Karibu by yesterday morning, including one from bestselling author Walter Mosley. By the afternoon, he had 20.

Chambers said the reaction to the news of the closings was "shock."

"Some of these other stores have been hanging on by fingernails from the beginning, small storefront shops that sold incense greeting cards, figurines and books as a sideline. This was a real chain with real brick-and-mortar stores," he said.

Glover began selling African American-oriented books on black college campuses in 1992, and the following year he partnered with Sana to launch Karibu with a pushcart in Landover Mall and a kiosk in the Mall at Prince George's in Hyattsville. By 2005, when it opened its sixth store, in Baltimore, the company had more than 40 employees and sponsored hundreds of in-store and community events.

The Pentagon City store closed after Christmas. The Baltimore location, along with one in Forestville, will close Sunday. The last three outlets, in Bowie and Hyattsville and at Iverson Mall in Temple Hills, are scheduled to close Feb. 10.

When Stephanie Leonard was a youngster, her Girl Scout troop sat at Nikki Giovanni's feet as she read poems at the Karibu in the Mall at Prince George's. Leonard, now a 25-year-old residence hall director at Bowie State University, grabbed a picture book yesterday from the movie "Dreamgirls" and the book "Sex.Lies.Murder.Fame," from her favorite author, Lolita Files. "I couldn't believe it when my sister sent me the e-mail," Leonard said. "I feel like it's a death in the community."

Outside the Bowie store, a woman stopped to read the sign announcing the closing and shook her head. A bookstore closes, and suddenly there aren't enough words.

Dandrea James-Harris, an editorial assistant with Heart and Soul Magazine, said that when friends visit from her native Harlem, Karibu has always been a required stop. She carried Randall Robinson's "Quitting America" and Paul Robeson Jr.'s "A Black Way of Seeing."

She is working on a research project, and she said she buys general titles at Barnes & Noble but always bought works by black authors from Karibu.

James-Harris said she was stunned but won't lose heart.

"I'm so hopeful," she said. "I believe that we will regroup and that something like this will open."

Meanwhile, along with dozens of other customers, she scooped up titles she feared she wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. Overhead, James Brown belted out his most soulful notes -- a bookstore requiem.

[CrimsonTide4]

One of my listserves posted that article and I forgot to post it here on GC.

I wish the two owners could have worked out their differences and let their egos go for the good of the community. They could have expanded and done major good in the Black literary community.

[Still BLUTANG]

i wish they would maintain an online presence. their selection of AA children's books is second to none.

[Senusret I]

Even aside from my sour grapes, this just isn't hitting me like it is everyone else.

I STAY in Borders. I also supported the little black bookstore across the street from my job.

Maybe if I had kids it would be different, since you guys really like their children's books. But I've pretty much found any black books I wanted at Borders.

[TheWriter]

Well that sucks. I really like the fact that Karibu was open in Security Square Mall in Baltimore because it was closer for me than other branches. But then again, everytime I enter Security it has new stores. I prefer Columbia Mall, Towson Mall, myself but(Arundel Mills is to busy). Anyway, what a shame.

Originally Posted by CrimsonTide4

After 15 years of service within the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Karibu Books, a Black bookstore chain will be closing its doors. We sincerely thank each and every one of you for your patronage and support. We are optimistic that our mission to empower and educate through a comprehensive selection of books by and about people of African descent will continue to resonate within the communities we proudly served.

Since 1993, we have been blessed to help thousands of local, regional and national authors share their incredible stories of faith, hope, love, peace, politics and race. We cannot begin to express our gratitude for the countless authors who have graced our six stores and enriched our customers’ lives.

On Sunday, January 27th, we will be closing our Security Square (Baltimore, MD) and Forestville locations. The remaining locations, Bowie Town Center, The Mall at Prince Georges and Iverson Mall will close Sunday, February 10th. Our Pentagon City store is already closed.

Effective immediately, all inventory at all locations will be 50% off. All fixtures will also be available for purchase on February 10th. See individual store managers for more information.

Again, we respectfully thank you for your loyalty, laughter and love. What an honor and privilege it has been to serve our community!

Sincerely,
Simba Sana
CEO
Karibu Books
http://www.karibubooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp


~~~~~~~~~~
Wish I lived in Maryland! Can you imagine all the books I could buy?

[nikki1920]

I remember when I went to the Iverson store, it seemed kind of empty.

Couldn't they have compromised and gone regional? No one else can buy books other than the soon-to-be ex wife?

[Ceekit]

I am so mad that I haven't gone yet. I bet the shelves are empty by now. This sucks because I needed some new books for my babies