S1 Ep. 14: VaLinda Miller, Turning Page (Goose Creek, South Carolina, US)

Located in Goose Creek, Turning Page is the only black-owned brick-and-mortar bookstore in the state of South Carolina. Painted in bright yellow, the Turning Pages bookshop opened in 2019 and in the words of its owner, it's "a space to hold poetry readings, where students may display their art work publicly, where book clubs can meet, where authors may hold readings and signing events. A place where black lives matter. A place to introduce and celebrate newer African-American authors. A place to bone up on history, or any number of academic subjects. A place to read of those great lives that have preceded our time." Our guest today is VaLinda Miller, the owner of Turning Page. She inherited a love of books from her grandmother and she wants to continue to serve this love but also contribute to the feeding of children, spiritual and otherwise. VaLinda and Arrylee, the store manager, hope they will be expanding their business by opening a second outlet soon. We chat to VaLinda today about black authors, the role a bookshop can play in fighting racism, her ideas for her community and what she wants Turning Page to become. Books recommended by VaLinda: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Sweet Water by Cara Reinard While Justice Sleeps: A Novel by Stacey Abrams The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019 by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain The Wedding by Dorothy West The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry