Karibu Books Closing
January 25th, 2008 by PG Chic
After 15 years, Karibu Books is closing. Wow…first of all I can’t believe it’s been 15 years! I remember their days back at Landover Mall. I remember being excited when they opened at Prince George’s Plaza. My hope is that the concept of Karibu can be salvaged to carry on the store’s core mission for African American authors, readers, etc. See below text from an e-mail I recevied (an evidently also posted on the Karibu Books Web site) sharing the unfortunate news of the store’s closing. The Washington Post has a detailed article about the reasons for closing, citing differences in the direction of the Blck-owned book stores.
Related Links:
- Black Readers Are Jolted by a Chain’s Demise - Loss of Karibu, a Result Of Owners’ Rift, Leaves A Hole in a Community (Washington Post, 01/24/2008)
- Karibu Books
January 22, 2008
Dear Karibu Customers,
After 15 years of service within the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Karibu Books, a Black bookstore chain will be closing its doors. We sincerely thank each and every one of you for your patronage and support. We are optimistic that our mission to empower and educate through a comprehensive selection of books by and about people of African descent will continue to resonate within the communities we proudly served.
Since 1993, we have been blessed to help thousands of local, regional and national authors share their incredible stories of faith, hope, love, peace, politics and race. We can’t begin to express our gratitude for the countless authors who have graced our six stores and enriched our customers’ lives.
We will be closing our Security Square (Baltimore, MD) and Forestville locations on Sunday, January 27. The remaining locations, Bowie Town Center, The Mall at Prince Georges and Iverson Mall will close on Sunday, February 10. Our Pentagon City store is already closed.
Effective immediately, all inventory at all locations will be 50% off. All fixtures will also be available for purchase on February 10. See individual store managers for more information.
Again, we respectfully thank you for your loyalty, laughter and love.
Sincerely,
Simba Sana
CEO
Karibu Books
Posted in Prince Georges County, Books, Did You Hear About? |
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January 25th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
It’s a shame about Karibu books, but I hope you’ll come to our new forum for African American authors: Davies Forum
January 27th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
I’m at a loss of words over the closing of one of the area’s most successful independent bookstores. Karibu Books will truly be missed.
February 10th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
My prayers are with Simba and Yao. I have admired these young men for years for the energy they had to make it in the tough world of retailing. I too am a book retailer - but on a much smaller scale. I too planned to close my multicultural children’s bookstore, as I relocate to Philadelphia - but found some book lovers, like yourselves, to take over the store. For those willing to travel to Occoquan, Virginia, please support the African-American owned “Story Tellers” that will open on March 1st as a children’s bookstore in the former Color Book Gallery (www.colorbookgallery.com) location. I pray that with faith and the support of the black community, things will work out, Karibu could be reborn or the community will grow another black owned general bookstore. The big box retailers will never provide the intimacy that can be found in our own stores. But we need support to survive. Look for me in Philadelphia before the end of 2008.