Dear Collingswood Friends & Families—

I am Jeannine A. Cook, the shopkeeper of Ida’s Bookshop at 734 Haddon Ave.

Our bookshop celebrates women authors, artists, and activists under the guiding light of historic heroine, Ida B. Wells.

Ms. Ida was a turn-of-the-century author, artist, and activist who worked tirelessly on issues of community development—specifically focusing her career on ending lynching with the power of her pen.

Inspired by Ms. Ida, I write this letter to you with the power of my pen.

Our shop has existed in Collingswood for three years this coming February and served thousands of books to local, national and even international families and friends from the Farmer’s Market to Clover Fest from Mayfair to the Book Fest—where I actually showed up on a horse to interview a horse jockey.

Now in our third year and with increased pressure on small businesses, especially bookshops, we recognize that innovation is crucial for our continued existence.

In contrast to large corporations, small businesses contribute to the social fabric of communities, providing unique goods, services, and experiences while promoting self-sufficiency.

We even had a realtor bring a new family by to ensure them, “Ida’s Bookshop is just another example of sacred spaces that make starting a life in Collingswood special.”

Embracing our position as a local bookshop we ensure:

that books have a viable future in the lives of children like those we host on field trips and Mommy and Me visits;
wealth circulates within the community as we hire local young people to operate the shops—including Aunye, Maya, Elijah, Brianna, Keiko, Serenity, Messiah, Jenesis and Asia;
and we continue donations to local organizations like BookSmiles that deliver free books to children;
hosting local and national authors like Jo Piazzo, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Sannii Crespina-flores, Christine Pride, Zach Wright, Shawn R. Jones, Anita Grace Brown, Seve Torres and Salamishah Tillet to name a few;
hosting musicians from vibraphone to violin, literacy bands and djs to songbirds and drummers, choirs, a keyboard playing harmonica player who was only 17.

This pursuit of the “independent” in independent bookshop is not merely a financial endeavor but a means to choose how we want to strengthen the social fabric.

Small businesses often face an uphill battle against corporate giants and multi-million dollar developers, grappling with challenges like limited resources and intense competition. The struggle for survival and growth is not just economic but also a fight to preserve the uniqueness and character of local communities.

To address this issue, we started a bootstrapped crowdfunding campaign and event series called “Raise The Rent.” In response to our landlord’s decision to Raise the Rent, we are seeking $23,000 in community investment to pay the rent upfront for a year so we can strategize and plan a sustained future for Ida’s Bookshop within Collingswood without the additional stressors of making ends meet from month to month—our overall goal is to purchase a building in Collingswood and stick around for generations.

Quiet as it’s kept, we have our eye on 566 Haddon Ave. but we’ve only just had initial conversations about what that could look like and what that journey would entail—but imagine a wellness center meets a bookshop cafe.

Maybe??

What we do see for sure is a future where collaboration between organizations and institutions will create sustainability. Remember we do this work in the face of book bans and a future that promises one or two large corporations could someday control the production and distribution of almost all books if we don’t decide otherwise now.

In parallels between book bans, economic injustice and historical lynching, it is essential to recognize the profound impact of both on intellectual freedom and human rights, echoing the sentiments of Ida B. Wells in her anti-lynching advocacy.

Just as lynching was a violent tool used to suppress and control, book bans and bookshop closings operate as a subtle but equally insidious form of intellectual oppression. Both mechanisms aim to stifle dissent, erase perspectives, and maintain a status quo that perpetuates harm.

Ida B. Wells, through her courageous anti-lynching work, understood the power of knowledge in dismantling systemic oppression. Similarly, book bans restrict access to diverse narratives, limiting the ability to challenge prevailing ideologies. By acknowledging the parallel between these forms of oppression, we highlight the importance of preserving intellectual freedom and honoring the legacy of pioneers like Ida B. Wells who fought against such injustices.

Another analogy we see in our work is the parallel between renting and sharecropping. In the fundamental absence of ownership and control, we see the vulnerability that individuals face in these arrangements.

In both scenarios, tenants and sharecroppers lack true ownership of the land or property they inhabit. This absence of ownership translates into a limited ability to shape our destinies, make long-term investments, or build generational relationships. The control over crucial decisions often rests in the hands of landlords or landowners who often could care less about the daily goings on of the community where their tenants “work the land,” mirroring the power dynamics prevalent in sharecropping arrangements.

Emphasizing this analogy is crucial in shedding light on the challenges faced by business owners without property ownership, underscoring the need for policies and initiatives that empower individuals to move beyond mere occupancy to ownership. By doing so, we address the root issues associated with both renting and sharecropping, advocating for a shift toward more equitable and empowering long term business development strategy.

In contrast to renting or sharecropping, owning a building in Collingswood provides a sense of permanence for Ida’s. It opens avenues for us to build generational relationships and foster economic stability that transcends immediate circumstances. Land ownership enables us to make long-term investments, engage in sustainable environmental practices, and establish a strong foundation.

This is why we are hosting design sessions that ask not just what your local bookshop can do for you, but also what you are can commit to doing for your local bookshop—from volunteering to landscaping from deliveries to authors chats, how do we sustain this institution together? Are you a contractor? A banker? A marketing guru? We need you.

At its core, community organizing brings people together, amplifying their collective voice to address shared concerns. Ida B. Wells, through her anti-lynching campaigns, showcased the transformative potential of communities united against injustice. By organizing and mobilizing, communities can effect change at both local and systemic levels.

This unity not only provides a platform for shared goals but also builds resilience in the face of challenges. Ida B. Wells demonstrated that through organized efforts, communities can challenge oppressive systems, demand justice, and bring about tangible transformation.

Community organizing acts as a catalyst, empowering us all to actively participate in shaping our neighborhood’s destiny.

It is our hope that through this comprehensive approach, drawing on inspiration from our namesake Ida B. Wells, we can be an example of the change we wish to see in the world.

But like Ida said, “before the people can ACT, they must KNOW.”

Now you know.

Thank you,

Jeannine A. Cook

Ida’s Bookshop

info@idasbookshop.com