RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Monday was a big day, not just for Liberation Station, but also for the owner, who hopes that when folks walk into this children’s bookstore, young people are able to feel safe and seen.
Victoria Scott Miller called it a homecoming. This is her second location since relocating from her first location in downtown Raleigh after receiving racial and death threats.
“I’m excited that when I reemerge from, you know, my rest and reflection, that they were ready with open arms and excited to be able to bring the bookstore back to life,” she explained.
She said her determination to reopen is rooted in her children.
“My children’s home was a culturally affirming learning environment, but their peers did not have this right. And so while my children might have had the expectation for this to exist, I wanted to make sure that, you know, we could have a collective conversation about what it looks like to have representation at our fingertips,” she said.
It’s a children’s bookstore, but the healing inside is generational.
“It’s the 25-year-olds, the 30-year-olds, the 40-year-olds that have to ask themselves, I wonder what my life would have been like had I had this,” she explained.
Like Damon Walker, who couldn’t hide the emotion watching the doors open again.
“As a dad of little ones, I’m just deeply aware of those missing voices, of those missing models. With little things, with watching TV, with each other. I wanted to know what it feels like to not be otherize And so as the kids spoke to us about the because we do,” said Damon Walker.
Inside, the shelves are packed with Black authors, Black stories, and the kind of representation Victoria says her community has had to search too hard to find.
We are 100% community funded.
Victoria Scott Miller – Liberation Station Owner
“But like, there are a lot of stories where we’ve been the first that are often undiscovered. So my hope is that people come with a level of curiosity and an excitement to learn about our stories,” she said.
And the timing of this reopening was intentional.
“Today is important is because of Ujamaa, which is the fourth day of Kwanzaa. And what that means is cooperative economics. And I thought that since we are 100% community funded, what better way to show this and action than to open our doors on a day where collective collective action has taken place, ” Victoria explained.
Because this comeback was carried by neighbors. The community helped raise more than $70,000 to bring Liberation Station back.
“It means they get the they get it, too. You know, we all see just how important, how foundational, fundamental,” said Damon Walker.
And when families walk in and find a book that makes them feel seen, or learn something they were never taught, Victoria says that’s what liberation looks like.
“To every ancestor who dreamed of freedom made possible by this moment, thank you. Y’all didn’t just show up to a bookstore opening, y’all showed up to tell our children that you are worth this, you’re worth everything. Welcome Home,” Victoria said.
