Semicolon bookstore hosting pop-up at Kimpton Gray Hotel in the Loop
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Semicolon bookstore has a new pop-up shop in downtown as part of their partnership with a local hotel to celebrate Black female authors this month.
CBS 2 digital journalist Jamaica Ponder has more on her mission to raise literacy rates in Chicago.
Danielle Moore is quite literally living the dream as owner and founder of Semicolon Bookstore and Gallery, the only black woman-owned bookstore in the city.
"Reorganizing books, getting some of these things together," she said.
She's partnered with the Kimpton Gray Hotel downtown to create a pop-up dream space, centering the narratives of Black female authors.
"Instead of bringing semicolon, my local bookstore to the space, we want it to create a dream space that we think Black women and other women of color create wherever we go with our stories, with our personalities, with our level of happiness, regardless of what's going on in the world like. That is how I chose the titles for this mix," Moore says.
The idea for a dreamscape came easily. The space was already equipped with a bed, and they are at a hotel. And the concept came together in about two weeks. Just in time for Black History Month.
"And we managed to knock it out in about a week," she said. "I had two weeks and when you look around this space, you see these women who have presented their stories in all of these different ways. But all of that make you feel more powerful when you read it."
Throughout the entirety of the year, Moore's curatorial process stems from her desire to have each purchase leave a lasting impact on the reader.
"I want to make sure that every story in here makes you feel like you can do something," Moore said.
And have them coming back for more.
"That always tell people that reading is the thing that builds empathy, and you have no choice but to build empathy and understanding and sort of a rapport with that person. And I want to deliver for," she said.
You can visit dreaming in semi-colon at the Kimpton Gray Hotel's retail space at 122 West Monroe Street, Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m.