Given everything that those of us in the UK are seeing on our screens about what’s happening in the USA at the moment, I wanted to take a moment to highlight the work of one of our stockists in Minnesota, and the wider community they’re part of.
Over the past few weeks, so many small businesses and community groups have come together in ways that feel genuinely hopeful. Comma, a bookshop is just one example of how bookstores are using their resources, visibility, and trust to support people in very practical ways.
Victoria and her team have helped raise thousands of dollars for local nonprofits organising against ICE, as well as for families directly affected by ICE’s actions. They’ve been giving out free whistles and Know Your Rights cards in multiple languages, providing supplies for making protest banners, and sharing ways people can support local immigrant-owned businesses through gift cards and direct spending.
Bookshops are often focal points in their communities, places where people gather, talk, and feel a sense of belonging. Seeing bookshops step into that role so clearly, especially at moments like this, is deeply moving.
Today, many businesses across the USA are closed as part of an economic blackout protesting ICE funding and actions. Some bookshops we know have closed in solidarity, while others are staying open to provide warm, welcoming spaces for people who need them.
If you’d like to see more of what Comma, a bookshop has been doing, their social media is well worth a look. And if you’d like to support them, you can buy books directly from their website or via their page on bookshop.org.
