Massachusetts

‘I'm Speechless': Donations Pour in for Roxbury's Frugal Bookstore After Weekend Fire

"People really have been showing us so much support and we’re very thankful for it," Frugal Bookstore co-owner Clarissa Cropper said

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Nubian Square's Frugal Bookstore is a community cornerstone. For nearly 15 years, the Black-owned bookstore has served as a literary oasis in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood.

“This store is like a home away from home. For every topic under the sun there’s a book for it,” one woman said.

The store has attracted patrons nationwide, but last Saturday, a mattress fire in an apartment above the bookstore resulted in major water damage from the sprinkler system.

“This is our children’s section, our young reader and young adult section that just had the most water damage,” said co-owner Clarissa Cropper. “It’s heart wrenching. This is our most popular section.”

Roxbury may sometimes get overlooked by tourists, but it actually has some of the city's greatest stories that are getting told and retold thanks to the Frugal Bookstore, the only black-owned bookstore in Boston. Kwani Lunis has the Local Lowdown.

The store's website says they are in the process of replenishing stock so there will be a delay in fulfilling orders in children's section, as well as the young reader and young adult sections.

But the bookstore is building back better. More than $40,000 has been raised for recovery and repairs.

“I’m speechless because it’s like wow, the love that we’re receiving from our community and not just our community but all over the country," Cropper said. "People really have been showing us so much support and we’re very thankful for it.”

A master in book selection, Cropper says one in particular is appropriate for these trying times.

“'Your legacy.' Right? We are creating a legacy for our children, for other people's children so that they know you can start from anywhere," Cropper said. "Our motto is 'Changing Minds One Book At A Time,' so literacy is so very important.”

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