‘Reparations Club’ Is A Black-Owned Bookstore That Focuses On Black Joy

A Black-woman-owned bookstore in Califonia focuses on a few things: good vibes, Black joy, and all things literary. With the tagline “curated by Blackness,” Reparations Club in Los Angeles is known for its welcoming atmosphere and the ample books available inside the space. Owner, Jazzi McGilbet, 35, told Travel Noire that her space has “familial vibes,” and is “very lighthearted, very literary, and very black.” McGilbert categorizes Reparations Club as a “concept bookshop and creative space” with limitless possibilities for the creative community and something for every literary flavor.  Inside Reparations Club, bookstore in L.A. (Photo credit: Nicki Sebastian for Doen) Opening the Space McGilbert, who was born and raised in L.A., opened the space in 2019, following the passing her of mother the year prior, but said she never really planned to open a bookstore. “I don’t think I thought [opening a bookstore] was something I could do,” the former fashion industry professional recalled.  She said that though she had always been a lover of reading, a bookstore wasn’t something she ever considered. “I was always a book kid…[but] I didn’t know anyone, not personally, who just owned a bookstore,” she told Travel Noire. But McGilbert said years of...