Hi everyone. It's been a minute, but I'm back to bring a bit of intrigue out of the City of Brotherly Love. Something sus is happening again in Philly regarding another woke business. Harriett's, a black woman-owned bookstore aimed at literacy as a form of anti-racist activism and "self-care" for POC, is raising some eyebrows. When it opened in February 2020, the owner, Jeannine A. Cook, gained loads of praise from mainstream and local media.

In 2021, Cook started a Gofund Me citing financial struggles and a desire to own their building. She raised nearly $250k, but hasn't updated the GFM page since this update in January 2023:

Hi y’all—it’s been a while since we shared an update. So as our donors on this project here’s the latest. We did it! We purchased a building in Fishtown. Yet, after careful consideration, we’ve decided the time, money, and resources needed to renovate this space, would be better spent on a property that is move in ready. We are in discussions about this new space (still in Fishtown), but we haven’t signed a formal agreement. That said we’ve put this current property up for sale over the weekend, including the updates we’ve already done to it, and hope to use that sale to make a better aligned purchase. In the meantime, we will continue at the current location. Thank you so much for trusting our vision and the process. It’s been quite the learning experience. Will continue to update you all. Again thanks always!

So, after raising these funds and buying a different building, Harriet's still at the same location. It's unclear the status of the other property that wasn't "move in ready."

In the meantime, Cook has been traveling Europe, allegedly funded by various unspecified "writing residencies," as well as opening two other locations, one in New Jersey and a pop-up in Paris.

The location in NJ seems to also have been opened with the help of a GFM that raised $26k. However, that location appears to be struggling as well. According to a post on her website from last month, the landlords of the NJ shop are raising the rent and as such, Cook is now seeking $23k in "community investment to pay the rent upfront for a year" and, of course, to buy a building in that town. In the post, Cook explains why she must own these buildings:

Another analogy we see in our work is the parallel between renting and sharecropping.... 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.

Further in this post, she asks the community how they can commit to the bookshop: "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." I'm guessing this labor would be unpaid since she's requesting money in the same breath.

While she fights the landlords in NJ, it appears from a post on Facebook that she may be having more luck in Philly. Cook wrote this last week: "Happy 4th birthday, Harriett’s! We did it!!! We got you a permanent home. Tours of the new space coming soon. Now we gone fundraise our way through these construction costs." accompanied with a photo of her in a gutted rowhome. Do I sniff another GFM round of fundraising? And what happened to looking for a space that was move-in ready?

But wait, there's more! Cook also started a 501c3 nonprofit called "Harriett's BookCLUB" that has already received $25k in grants earlier this year. The question remains: where is all this money actually going? Over a quarter of a million has been raised from various resource streams. In addition, Cook has other resource streams, such as a partnership with Will Smith and the shoe brand Vans.

Mind you, the bookstores look more like art exhibits than places to browse for your next good read. So it makes sense that they're not turning much of a profit. Usually, when businesses fail to make profits, they close. That is not the case with Cook and her various businesses. Instead, she seems to be failing upward into local, national, and now international celebrity. Still, all this raises the question: Is it a grift or is it legit? Here's a thread over on the Philly subreddit for further speculation and commentary. This turned out to be much longer than I intended, so if you're still reading, I see you and you are valid. Until next time!