Rohi's Readery is my happy place.
There are so many beautiful books in here, but anytime someone comes in here, I'm always trying to find what speaks to you, what speaks to your story.
My name is Pranoo Kumar and I am the owner and founder of Rohi's Readery.
From the moment you walk into Rohi's Readery, there's an opportunity to storytell.
Whether it's coming up to someone and talking to them, whether it is coming on stage and doing a performance with puppets, whether it's going to our bookmaking station and creating your own book, whether it's just sitting and breathing and being in our cozy quiet corner, just knowing that there's so many ways of telling a story and that you just being unapologetically and authentically you in itself is a story.
In addition to obviously the books that tell the stories too.
Whether it is black, indigenous, Arab, Latin, Pacific Islander, Asian, the LGBTQIA+ community, the neurodiverse and disability community, our goal is to ensure that we are bringing these beautiful, empowering stories to the forefront and then also honoring historical truths as well.
And so when I say a social justice driven children's bookstore and learning center, it's really this opportunity to honor and celebrate historically marginalized communities.
[Pranoo] Yay!
Welcome!
What we also do is provide about 15 to 20 free classes a month, whether it's cooking, gardening, dance, story-time.
For adults, we do creative and healing writing, women of color healing circles, documentary viewings.
The goal is to be able to provide windows and mirrors to opportunities of learning for all ages, while also building really authentic, safe, human connection between community.
Even though that this is sort of the physical space, the heart of this work is yes through our free educational programming, but then also the community outreach.
So if a school or a space cannot come to the readery, that we're bringing the readery to them.
That's really what community is all about.
And we've been able to do this also providing classes and opportunities for diverse and inclusive libraries in not-for-profit spaces like schools, but then also for-profit spaces like hotels that are asking for a diverse library within their game room and also doing a virtual bedtime series that guests can watch for free that have to do with these beautiful books as well.
So the classes we're trying to ensure always being placed out in the community as well.
Hi, revolutionary reader!
Hi, revolutionary reader!
Hello, revolutionary readers!
My hope is that this place has really been a place to connect with others but also to build family.
I was inspired to create Rohi's Readery because of my own experiences growing up.
I was born in another country and moved to the U.S, particularly the deep South, at a very young age and experienced a tremendous amount of racism and oppression in both the personal and educational spaces.
And so for my family and I, it was really a matter of how do we right the wrongs of the past and ensure that our babies truly feel seen, empowered, loved and a sense of belonging and what better than beautiful literature and beautiful books for babies to get involved with.
There is such power in storytelling and one of the biggest things for our babies is understanding that your story has meaning.
Until next time, revolutionary readers, bye!