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  • February 18, 2025
St. Paul’s Black bookstore Black Garnet Books is being sold to a new owner

St. Paul’s Black bookstore Black Garnet Books is being sold to a new owner

Four years ago, Dionne Sims tweeted a dream into the world.

Sims had a vision for a black-owned bookstore in Minnesota that would elevate the books of people of color, who are often marginalized in the literary world. At the time, there were no other bookstores like this in the state. Black Garnet Books opened in 2022 in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood with the help of crowdfunding and a $100,000 Neighborhood STAR grant from the city.

Now that dream has become a reality, Sims said she has focused on other dreams: focusing on her writing and pursuing a college education. This summer, Sims shared in a post on Black Garnet Book’s Instagram that she was looking for a new owner for the bookstore. This fall she sold the bookstore.

“I have a very good feeling about it,” she said. “One thing I really feel strongly about is that you don’t have to do something forever for it to be good for the time you did it, or for it to be worth doing.”

In addition to her social media appeal, Sims reached out to Terresa Moses, a professor at the University of Minnesota and the owner of Blackbird Revolt, a social justice design studio. The two met through a mutual friend in 2020 and connected while on a dog walk. Not long after, Sims volunteered to help distribute Blackbird Revolt merchandise during protests. When Black Garnet opened its doors, they began stocking Moses’ designs.

Nova the dog rests on a pillow as shoppers busily peruse books and supplies at Black Garnet Books on Small Business Saturday in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Saturday, November 26, 2022. ) SHARI L. GROSS • shari. gross@ startribune.com (Shari L. Gross)

“She was the first person I thought of when I was like, ‘Okay, I’m definitely going to do this. I will definitely sell the store,” Sims said.

It worked. There is a strong connection between the work at Blackbird and Black Garnet, Moses said in an email.

“Similar to the work I’m already doing, there’s a strong intersection between creativity, storytelling and abolition,” Moses said.