Posts Tagged ‘Willa Robinson’
KC Defender invests in Black-owned bookstore’s legacy, keeping its story alive as media startup’s new HQ
Missouri’s oldest-operating Black-owned bookstore is set to evolve into a public archive, programming venue, and the new headquarters for The Kansas City Defender — a bittersweet turn of the page for a space marked by resilience and community action, organizers said. Willa’s Books and Vinyl, 5547 Troost Ave., has long stood as a sanctuary of Black…
Read MoreIt’s not too late to preserve KC’s Black-owned restaurants (or to enjoy Black Feast Week)
The recent closures of Soiree, The Krave, and Privee — Black-owned restaurants that each became a staple of Kansas City’s evolving food scene — leave a clear void that can’t be ignored, said Ryan Sorrell. An initiative to help save local culinary should-be hotspots in similar danger wraps this week, but the work to promote and…
Read MoreIt’s a ‘movement, not just a moment’; H&R Block audits impact of Black excellence, businesses
Reading is among the best way to learn about Black history, said Willa Robinson, the founder and owner of Willa’s Books & Vinyl. “I’m grateful to be able to educate people about what’s going on in the Black community through books. There’s so much history on what we have experienced, what we have accomplished,” said…
Read MoreKC’s only Black-owned book shop — forced to find a new home — hits crowdfunding goal in just a few days
More than 3,000 books and records surrounded Willa Robinson as her eyes danced between decades of knowledge and culture gathered in her neighborhood shop, Willa’s Books and Vinyl — the only Black-owned brick-and-mortar book store in Kansas City. “Opening a store hadn’t been in my plans. I’m a collector, but then collecting got out of…
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