Black-Owned Baltimore Bookstore Targeted By Racist Harassment
The owner of Urban Reads Bookstore in Baltimore, Tia Hamilton, told CBS News that her shop has been intimidated and targeted by progressively worsening racial harassment on online forums.
Since its founding in 2019, Hamilton used Urban Reads to promote literacy and uplift the Black community. In her magazine, State vs. Us, Hamilton discusses mass incarceration and systemic racism, highlighting the voices of those who have been wrongfully incarcerated in her pieces.
She believes that her advocacy has made her a target for racist threats to Urban Reads.
On her Instagram, Hamilton has posted a series of screenshots documenting the disturbing social media threats to bring awareness to Urban Reads' plight. However, the severity has been getting worse, and it's taken a toll on Hamilton's mental health.
She expressed, 'I still haven't really eaten, you know, and I'm barely sleeping…I'm angry, and I'm angry because this is a faceless enemy. 'I've always gotten threats, but things really started up on the 20th [of February].'
After Feb. 20, Hamilton explained that she began receiving disturbing online messages through State vs. Us's Facebook. It began showing up on other social media accounts for Urban Reads as well.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DG6KkXcRMgB/?igsh=cXpqZXQ4bjFhaTlk
Hamilton said, 'We're really supposed to be coming together – but instead their hate runs so deep that they want to hate me.'
It eventually got so severe that Hamilton reached out to the city of Baltimore, including Mayor Brandon Scott. She additionally made a post on Instagram, calling for men and volunteers to help protect her store.
The local advocacy group — The Tendea Family — stepped in to help her. The group, founded by Elijah Miles, sent several men to guard Urban Reads following the threats.
The Black community group's goal is 'to protect women, children and elders, to stop the violence, to save the youth, to shift the culture, to rebuild this commUNITY!'
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGyu4VeBmpJ/?igsh=MTNzbXQ2ZXF4MmdzNw==
Other members of the Baltimore community have rallied around Hamilton. Baltimore City Councilwoman Odette Ramos announced that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.
Ramos told news outlets, 'I feared for her safety. We're going to have to find a way that there are more protocols and ways that these things can be measured. I think this is going to grow. When something like this happens, we feel that kind of pride in our city is being tested. We're not going to let it. The thing about Baltimore is that we care for our own, absolutely.'
Hamilton has confirmed that although the threats and comments have persisted, she refuses to let Urban Reads be bullied out of being an activist. She intends to continue uplifting the Baltimore community and doing literacy work for those in need.
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