![]() The Boxville opener, held on the 154 thanniversary of Juneteenth, honored the day of belated emancipation by celebrating freedom through commerce, music and education - including a book giveaway, food and fun for community residents and visitors. And Boxville is a key part of that effort.” “’Build Bronzeville’ uses the culture and people of our historic community to develop commerce and bring jobs back for residents and to attract visitors to enjoy our unique food, music, and the arts. “In order to make Chicago better for everyone, we have to turn communities like Bronzeville around,” said Bernard Loyd, president and founder of Urban Juncture. Boxville is one part of a larger community revitalization effort called “Build Bronzeville.” The effort seeks to blend entrepreneurship, food and the arts, historic destinations, and neighborhood beautification to connect neighbors and expand economic opportunity in the area. The evening event had more than 200 participants flowing in and out of the outdoor marketplace. Her daughter helps run the store.īefore opening Da Book Joint in 2007, Singletary worked in accounting for 15 years.Boxville, a South side shipping container mall, is open for its third season, giving local business owners a low-cost way to conduct business. Singletary has a son and daughter, both adults. “And it’s something I’ve always encouraged my children (to do) as well.” “I think just the level of understanding I got with reading opened a lot of doors for me,” Singletary said. Her mother told her she started reading when she was 3 years old and her nose was always in a book, she said. Books helped her improve her vocabulary, her reading comprehension and even her math skills. Singletary has always had a passion for reading. Singletary also created the nonprofit Options for Literacy, an organization that raises funds to donate books to underserved youth in schools. To the left, more children’s books are displayed over two bookshelf units, most with Black boys and girls on their covers. Walking into her new shop, people are greeted with a spread of mostly adult books on a table to the right surrounded by two bookshelves with young adult and beginning chapter books. She started much smaller this time, a more sustainable business model, she said. But as the economy improved, and people started to become more intentional about supporting small businesses, people started asking her when she would open a shop again, she said.Ĭourtney Woods places a category marker on a shelf at Da Book Joint at the Boxville marketplace. She held on for two years, until 2009 when she decided her business plan was unsustainable and had to close her doors.ĭa Book Joint became an online bookshop, with pop-up sales at local events. It was the year Amazon first released the Kindle and the year the Great Recession started. That was her goal in 2007, when Singletary opened Da Book Joint on the corner of 95th Street and Jeffrey Boulevard. So that’s always been my goal with Da Book Joint.” “They need to see books by authors that look like them about characters that look like them. “Our children, they need to see books, they need to see that they’re represented by books,” Singletary said. Singletary understands the importance of having kids read stories they can relate to. She said books can also help kids understand why some groups are more disadvantaged than others. “A lot of times you know, my kids don’t learn about this stuff until later on, or read about it and understand the dynamics of their family, their demographics, their traumas and how to deal with it.” It helps them with mental health,” Terry said. “I think it’s important because it kind of helps them have representation. ![]() Verlean Singletary, second from left, talks with customers at Da Book Joint at the Boxville marketplace in the 300 block of East 51st Street in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Nov.
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