August 15, 2022
Black and Queer-Owned DC Bookstore Owner Surprised with $20,000 Check From Good Morning America
In honor of Black Business Month, Good Morning America paid a visit to Washington DC’s Loyalty Bookstore, a Black and Queer-owned bookstore in our nation’s capital specializing in diverse storytellers.
As part of GMA’s “Black Business Boost” segment, the news team highlighted a local bookstore looking to bounce back from the pandemic, ABC News reports. They caught up with Hannah Oliver Depp, the owner of Loyalty Bookstore, who’s adding diversity and representation to the industry, and surprised her with a $20,000 check sponsored by Wells Fargo.
“Oh my god, it’s a giant check!,” Depp exclaimed. “They really do do this!”
In honor of Black Business Month, we’re paying a visit to Hannah Oliver Depp, the owner of @Loyaltybooks, who is writing a new chapter for her community in Washington, D.C. ❤️📚 pic.twitter.com/S1Bwcp68AY
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 15, 2022
Loyalty Bookstore specializes in diverse books aimed at amplifying the voices of marginalized communities, as noted by The Washingtonian. The store brings the community through its unique events, including hosting Drag Queen Storytimes.
“We want to make sure everyone knows there’s a multiplicity of Black stories,” Depp said.
Carrying books by Black literary greats like Toni Morrison, Octavia Butler, and Angela Davis, the books in Loyalty Bookstore celebrate the beauty of “all voices.”
“There’s just a lot of stories that aren’t told and spread on a regular basis,” Armani Jackson, a bookseller at Loyalty Bookstore, said. “People get to come in and see the world from a different perspective.”
Depp says many books across all genres highlight Black culture but too often go unnoticed.
Loyalty Bookstore’s goals for the foreseeable future include launching a bookmobile to get more diverse stories into the hands of happy readers. But with a struggling economy, Depp’s bookmobile goal has been met with even more challenges.
As a gift, GMA surprised Depp with a visit from DC native and NY Times best-selling author Jason Reynolds who sat down with her and a few Loyalty customers to discuss what readers are looking for from diverse storytellers.
Depp is reaching her mission of selling diverse books and providing job opportunities to her community.
“We wanted that whole community to be represented on our shelves,” Depp said.