ROXBURY -- The walls at SISTAHS' bookstore can talk.
Lined with Afrocentric books, the walls silently whisper sweetnothings from between the paper sheets of romance novels, scream sournotes of injustice from books on the civil rights movement, and singthe songs of authors who are more frequently having their voicesheard in bookstores that celebrate their talents.
For more than two years now, SISTAHS' has been providing a placewhere readers can get their hands on the words of Afrocentricwriters. The store is one of only a few that have cropped up inGreater Boston as the landscape of the book retail industry begins tochange.
Savanna Books, which sells multicultural adult and children'sbooks in a Cambridge store, has been around for 13 years, six of themoperating out of a storefront and seven out of the owner's home.Books are available through specialized mail order businesses such asAfrican Source in Cambridge and Lift Every Voice in Newton. Also, ANubian Notion in Dudley Square and Treasured Legacy in Copley Squaresell Afrocentric books as well as art, African artifacts and otheritems.
Across the country there are about 400 to 500 such bookstores,according to the latest figures by Vision 3000, an Atlanta-basedcompany that specializes in black book distribution and marketing.
At SISTAHS', the categorized shelves cover a lot of territory --health, gay/lesbian issues, Christianity, relationships, business,children, black romance, mystery, Caribbean writers, African Americanwriters, Latino writers, poetry, drama, spirituality, raising blackchildren -- all in a tiny 215-square-foot space inside the DudleySquare Ujamaa Mart.
Genita Johnson owns the bookstore with Dianna Christmas, alifelong Roxbury resident, and her best friend Dyanne London, wholives in Cambridge.
The three women got to know each other professionally when theyworked at Dimock Community Health Center.
London, a clinical psychologist, and Johnson have been closefriends for about 11 years since they met at an outing for blackprofessional singles. They didn't meet any men but they found agreat relationship.
Christmas, project director for the Boston Healthy StartInitiative, said it is the relationship between the three women andthe different personalities that fuel the success of the businesspartnership.
Christmas, a poet, describes herself as the flamboyant one whohandles public relations. London is the structured one who dealswith the accounting. Johnson is the in-between personality whohandles the negotiations with book publishers.
Johnson, who was born in Cambridge and now lives in Medford, has adegree in medicine from a Nigerian university and a master's inpublic health from Boston College. Her background has been in publichealth and preventive medicine, but she's always had business plansin the back of her mind.
'I'm a person who constantly needs a challenge,' she said. 'It'salways been a dream to open a black bookstore. I like to read and Iwas always into black books myself.'
Johnson said she wanted to open a bookstore in Dudley Square tofill a void since there is no full-scale bookstore in the area,particularly one specialzing in Afrocentric works.
'We're human services people,' she said. 'So, it's almost likefilling a need for the community. . . . It's nice having thisbookstore. People are excited when they come in here.'
Nemasengere Mutota, founder, CEO and chairman of Vision 3000,said the market for Afrocentric books has grown across the country inthe past five to seven years. Few stores are more than 10 years old.
Although Afrocentric bookstores have been on and off the scene formany years, the recent increase has occurred for several reasons,according to Mutota whose organization is sponsoring a conference forAfrocentric book retailers in April.
'For one, the information age. I think black people arerecognizing the value of information and the lack of it with ourpoint of view,' he said. 'The collective genius of the blackcommunity has always responded to the needs of our people. Look atjazz or blues, it came about because we were cut out of mainstreammusic . . .. Black people by and large have been left out of thissociety and we have had to create our own institutions to satisfy ourneeds.'
And, black bookstores go beyond just being commercial entities,said Mutota, who has been in the book-selling business for 23 years.'There's a definite social agenda. As a result of this they areattracting people of different persuasions and they continue to growbased on the role they play in community.'
As African American writers, particularly African American womenwriters, have become more popular, book retailers have been carryingmore titles by authors of color and about people of color. However,said Johnson, most major bookstores only carry the bestsellers orbooks by authors who have become big names like Alice Walker, ToniMorrison and Maya Angelou.
'You might find `Body and Soul' {a health book for women ofcolor}. But you won't find `Heal Thyself,' which is a small pressbook,' Johnson said. 'Or, `Countering the Conspiracy to Kill BlackBoys.''
Walker, Morrison, and Angelou all have a place at SISTAHS'. Butso do lesser known authors. The store also will order a book for aclient if it is not on the shelves.
SISTAHS' has author readings and signings, as well. Recentauthors who appeared include Jill Nelson, the author of theprovocative 'Volunteer Slavery' about her experience working at theWashington Post, and Sister Souljah, the controversal rap artist witha newly published book 'No Disrespect.'
The bookstore started a reading group in the winter of '93 thatnow has about nine members. On the second Tuesday of each month,members meet for two hours to discuss books.
The group's reading list has included a variety of books fromone dealing with a man coming to terms with his bisexuality to oneabout Harlem and racism that was written in the 1940s but that stillis timely. This Tuesday, the group will be discussing 'Secrets,' bya Trinidad writer.
Deberoh Prentice of Somerville has been in the reading group fortwo months now and enjoys coming to the bookstore.
'I went to a mostly white, about 95 percent white, college. Ifelt like, not that I lost my identity, but that something wasmissing. And, by reading these books I think I can recapturesomething I lost,' said Prentice, who works at a nonprofitorganization located above the Ujamaa Mart.
Patricia Carrington, a Roxbury resident who is an educator atAgassiz Elementary in Jamaica Plain, has been a part of the readinggroup since it began.
'I read a lot but it has been my experience that most of thetime I read in isolation,' Carrington said. 'Being in the groupgives me the opportunity to share the pleasure.'
For the owners, having SISTAHS' has been important for manyreasons.
Christmas said it is essential because it helps dispel the myththat black women can't work together. It shows that you can excel nomatter how difficult it is and that excelling doesn't mean that youhave to do it alone, she said.
'One of things that really hit me was when Girl Scouts came in andthey had never seen so many black books before,' London said. 'It'simportant because it really helps improve black folks' self-esteem .. . For me, it's been a reawakening of my culture.'
SISTAHS' is at 62 Warren Str. in Roxbury and is open Mondaythrough Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.to 7 p.m. (617) 427-4710.
