Meet the owner of the bookstore celebrating Black women

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - There are hundreds of black-owned businesses here in the Lansing area and one local bookstore is looking to celebrate black writers during Black History Month and beyond.

The owner and creator of Social Light Society, Nyshell Lawrence, says that creating this space here in the Lansing area was important to have. They celebrate parts of the community that may not be well represented in a traditional bookstore.

The idea for this space was created back in 2017 when Lawrence and her husband were shopping in a bookstore and she noticed the lack of titles written by black women.

The store was started as a series of pop-up shops around the area and is now moving into a permanent spot in the Lansing Mall.

Though the shop centers around celebrating black women, Lawrence says she wants the space to be welcoming for anyone.

“I hear over and over again that is something we have needed for a long time,” Lawrence said. “So many women come in just to say thank you for starting this space thank you for gathering all these books and all these black women owner brands.”

If you are looking to head out and check out the shop, it’s open in the Lansing Mall every day at 11 a.m.

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