Best Worthy Cause
Roots Bookstore and Market
Book bans may abound, but canonical Black, brown, and LGBTQIA+ stories are going nowhere. In Liberty City, Roots Bookstore and Market is a new sanctuary for “Black storytelling and a refuge for banned books,” according to a GoFundMe that was just a tad bit shy of its $14,000 goal at press time, even as the shop was slated to open on Juneteenth as this issue was being finalized. More than a bookstore (or a worthy cause, for that matter), it’s the legacy of the late activist and cofounder of Roots Collective, Danny Agnew, and a safe space for learning, community-building, and liberation. Roots Collective opened the Black House, its first brick and mortar space, in 2018, which became home to the Village (Free)dge and Pantry to fight food insecurity and Black Men Build, a national organization co-directed by Agnew’s brother Phil. Like many of the Black-owned businesses in Liberty City, they were priced out in 2023 and relocated to the Freedom Lab. A timely opportunity from the Miami Foundation allowed co-founders Isaiah Thomas, James Mungin, and Phil Agnew to purchase this permanent hub for their community-enriching efforts, where Danny’s longtime dream of owning a bookstore is becoming a reality.