INDIANAPOLIS — This February marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month. In central Indiana, two women are turning the milestone into a movement, using books to celebrate Black history, culture and joy all year long.
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Natalie Pipkin drives a bus toward learning, but most of the seats are now shelves stacked with stories.
“We have so many stories to tell…we make it easier for people to find,” Pipkin said. “The power of the story is when the book is opened.”
In 2022, Pipkin turned her mission into motion, launching the Black WorldSchoolers Mobile Bookstore.
She travels all across the Midwest, working to provide more access to books that wouldn't typically be in schools or libraries.
“It’s Indiana’s first bookstore on wheels,” Pipkin said. “Black WorldSchoolers was really about positively shaping how first my children were seeing themselves in the world."
For Pipkin, every stop has a purpose.
“Our mission is to provide access and awareness to our stories as well as excitement and engagement around reading,” she said. "Not only are these just about Black people, these are by Black people.“
Across central Indiana, DeAndra Beard-Ingram is on a similar page.
“I share books into the world that I think are significant and should be shared over and over with, not just our community, but whoever is willing to read,” said Beard-Ingram, CEO of Beyond Barcodes Books.
With her husband’s help, Beard-Ingram relocated her bookstore from Kokomo to Indianapolis in 2021, one of just a few Black woman-owned bookshops in the city.
“It really was a place for people to come and connect, learn about history,” Beard-Ingram said.
The store closed after the tragic death of Beard-Ingram's husband. Now, her mission continues; she's launching a virtual book club, Reading Beyond Racism.
“It’s really creating a safe, a virtual safe space for us to heal and walk together through and work toward liberation,” Beard-Ingram said.
Both women say their work is especially important now.
“It’s so important because history, Black history as we know it, is being intentionally erased, reshaped,” Beard-Ingram said.
“They can take it away. They can ban it. They can make laws against it…Make sure you keep your stories,” Pipkin added.
Beard-Ingram is launching her virtual book club on Feb. 23.
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