Charis Books & More, one of the oldest and last remaining feminist and LGBTQ+ bookstores in the country, is framing its 50th anniversary around a prophetic quote from iconic author Octavia E. Butler’s classic 1993 novel “Parable of the Sower.”
In the novel, we meet protagonist Lauren Olamina on July 20, 2024 in a dystopian world ravaged by climate change, wealth imbalance, and corporate greed. Imbued with “hyper-empathy,” Olamina can feel the sensations she witnesses in others. She realizes the only way forward for humanity, as futile as it may seem, is to “take root among the stars.”
“We’ve chosen this invocation from Butler because it dares us to change the world. It dares us to struggle through scarcity and collapse, to build community with the tools available to us, and to imagine a future that is only possible with our people alongside us,” the Decatur-based bookstore said in a statement. “2024 is a pivot point in ‘Parable of the Sower’ and in Charis’ history, just as it likely will be a pivot point in human history. We mark this 50th anniversary as a moment on a continuum followed by tomorrows we are still creating.”
Opened by Linda Bryant in 1974, Charis was a mainstay of Little Five Points for its first 45 years. Alice Walker, Gloria Steinem, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Leslie Feinberg, bell hooks and Octavia E. Butler herself were just some of the feminist icons who regularly read or visited Charis over its long history.
In 2019, Charis entered a partnership with Agnes Scott College and moved to Decatur. Located at 184 S. Candler St. in a 1901 Victorian home that was completely renovated by Agnes Scott as part of the partnership, Charis continues to thrive in its 50th year.
Now co-owned by Sarah Luce Look and Angela Gabriel, Charis also has a nonprofit arm called Charis Circle, which plans programming, author events, and fundraises for the shop.
In the highly charged political climate, where LGBTQ+ rights are being used as wedge issues by candidates, Charis realizes just how significant its 50th anniversary is and what’s at stake for the future.
“We want control of our bodies, safe and affordable food, housing, and healthcare, the support to raise a child or not to, the right to choose who we call family, and the right to age with dignity; we want rest and pleasure and love and art, free expression, access to information, a connection to the earth and the protection and renewal of ecosystems, privacy from surveillance, the right to migrate freely and safely, and freedom from interpersonal and state violence,” Charis said in its statement.
Charis’ story has been as much about survival and weathering economic and cultural change as it is about community and success.
“We weathered the hardest parts of our history because of the mostly invisible labor of a handful of staff, board members, and volunteers, and the commitment of a small number of donors who helped us keep the doors open when so many other feminist, queer, and literary institutions could not survive. We did this by refusing many traditional capitalist and nonprofit modes and returning again and again to the will and the wisdom of our people,” the statement said.
Charis will mark its 50th anniversary beginning Nov. 2 with a ticketed event at Letitia Pate Evans Dining Hall on the Agnes Scott campus. The event will feature a performance by Indigo Girls and guest authors and speakers. Tickets are available here.
From Nov. 4 to Nov. 9, there will be a series of readings, lectures, and events to also mark the anniversary. Visit charisbooksandmore.com for details.
