 |
| This lovely meal gifted to me once we discovered all the vegan pizza was eaten (only meat/cheese pizzas and leafy salad were left). I thought the gesture of this Awesome Foods Chickpea Salad with Kaiser Roll too kind an offering, especially since the giver was another vegan. I would have gladly ventured out to Tattooed Mom's or Hip City Veg after volunteering today, but someone said, "stay, have this meal, and eat with us." |
Today was another wonderful tribute to the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
For Day of Service, on what would have been the slain leader's 89th birthday, I headed to Uhuru Furniture to hear about their visions and bask in the glowing "uhuru" spirit (Swahili for freedom, independence). They shared videos about the civil rights movement, featured spoken word poetry, a remarkable keynote by Ticharwa Masimba from ADEDF St. Louis on the
Black Power Blueprint Project, allowed volunteers to discuss why they came out via an open mic segment, and took a group photo of us outside. We then broke down into various groups (some walking others driving), each participant carrying 200 door fliers to hang in various neighborhoods to let people know about Uhuru Furniture-- an organization as well as furniture store.
At lunch, they announced handing out 4,000+ fliers (almost reaching their goal of 5,000), raised over $600, and handed out prizes like gift certificates, posters, and artworks via raffle drawing.
 |
| This place was packed and hopping. |
I finally stopped by Marc Lamont Hill owned Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books Shop in Germantown, blocks away from the Nile Café. It was a lovely dedication to the written word that contained some of the most conscious authors/activists/biographies of past and present from Coretta Scott King, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, and Ta-Nehisi Coates to fictional greats Zora Neale Hurston, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and so much more. There are t-shirts that ask people to “read more and talk less.” There is one that says “writer.” Poetry by Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Ntozake Shange, and Tyhembia Jess. Theory by bell hooks. Economics, history, gender and queer studies, cookbooks, art, and relationship advice are other topics that fill the laid back space. Eyes will water on the displays about Emmitt Till and prison culture.
The décor is straight up vintage-- sewing machines and irons that entail seamstresses and domestic employ, Mammy figures of disturbing principles, globes, trunks, and suitcases of migrant travels from South to North, typewriters that make one think of James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry.
 |
| This is near the entrance of the coffee shop, giving a taste of what readers can find on the shelves. |
 |
| I picked up a copy of Nalo Hopkinson's short sci-fi tales called, "Falling In Love With Hominds" and a Sabiir Bakery's Vegan-Ish pudding cake (the only vegan food option available right now). |
 |
| It's definitely a quieter place to write and read as opposed to other places. The music isn't loud or intrusive. |
 |
| The laminated, coned pages floating down like bright lights were very creative touch. |
 |
| Shameless bathroom selfie with Alice Walker tee. |
 |
| The cake is dense and moist, almost too moist and just a little salty (or was that baking soda?), but overall satisfactory if you're a vegan in need for a treat at this spot. |
My first couch was from Uhuru Furniture. Truthfully, it was mostly because it was cheap and close to my apartment. We even carried the couch a few blocks to my apartment. But when I learned more about the place I was happy I went there instead of someplace like Good Will. This post made me happy because I looked them up again and it is exciting to see that they are in a bigger place!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Thanks for sharing your story, Jennifer. I have been looking around and definitely want to own a few things. It's a solid organization worth supporting. They're providing a wealth of positive outreach for the community and throughout the U.S.
Delete