“A lot of children, because they struggle with the mechanics of reading itself… it discourages them from even reading a chapter book or going beyond what they feel their own limitations are. So seeing yourself in a book…it gets them interested.”

Ymani Wince

Today’s guest is Ymani Wince, Owner of The Noir Bookshop. Ymani sat down with Staci to discuss her love for books, the inspiration for opening her bookstore, book vending machines, and tips for encouraging children to get excited about literature. 

Ymani personal K-12 story

• Ymani is a product of Ferguson-Florissant School District
• She attended private school from 3rd-6th grade
• Her dad really wanted her to have the public school experience
• She went to middle school at Cross Keys, high school at McCluer North
• She really enjoyed her high school experience

What is Noir Bookshop?

• She didn’t read Black literature in High School
• Didn’t start reading Black titles until her senior year of college at Mizzou
• In 2020 she started collecting Black titles, then started posting them online, and people responded to it.
• Wanted to get more Black books into the community as well
• She started seeing friends open themed book stores and realized St. Louis didn’t really have that.
• Book stores have always been safe havens for Black people
• “Sometimes I think even having a bookstore back during my grandparents’ time would have had me on an FBI watch list. And so, that’s not something I take likely.”
• “December of 2021 I announced that I wanted to not only open a bookstore, but to put it on the south side of St. Louis specifically, because St. Louis City is a book desert and there are no spaces where you could buy not just black literature but current best sellers, current literature, front list titles in the community”
  

Where is The Noir Bookshop?

• Located on Cherokee St. in South City
• It’s an eclectic arts district 

What inspired your love of reading?

• Her grandmother inspired her love of reading
• She would take her to bookstores and give her Highlights magazines
• Her mom and step mom also honored and supported her reading

What sparked the desire to read Black authors?

• She was getting into the app Good Reads and was making a list of Black titles to read there
• She started with Malcom X, then kept going.
• It opened her mind up to seeing that these stories are still real and reinforce the Black experience.

What do you think it does to a child’s psychology to see representation in the characters that they read and watch?

• It makes them more interested
• “A lot of children, because they struggle with the mechanics of reading itself… it discourages them from even reading a chapter book or going beyond what they feel their own limitations are. So seeing yourself in a book…it gets them interested.”

Can you tell us more about the book vending machines?

• In thinking about how to get more books into the community, while also encouraging them to come back to the store, she thought about vending machines.
• She also realized that kids didn’t understand the concept of borrowing like at a library.
• She wanted to have the vending machine to serve as a sort of guide post for kids to know these books are free.

What is it like doing this work as a young black female?

• It’s really surreal sometimes
• Sometimes Ymani needs to step back to recognize her growth and small successes along the way.
• There are highs and lows, but when she’s out in the community and seeing the impact of her work, it’s incredibly rewarding.

What tips or tricks do you have to really get kids excited about literature?

• Ymani’s parents or family never had concrete expectations about who she should be or what she should do. They just taught her to read and made it available when she showed interest.
• Sometimes giving a child a book about something they know they’re really interested in can help
• The biggest thing is to honor whatever it is your kid loves.

What is something that gives you hope about the future of education in St. Louis?

• There are so many books in STL working to push the literacy needle forward.
• Plus the other bookstores and literacy efforts across the country.
• I See Me Bookstore, Ready Readers, Black Men Read STL, Belief Projects and other organizations in STL that are trying to push things forward because they care
• Parents fighting to keep SLPS in check for their kids’ education.

How do we find Noir Book Shop?

• NoirBookShop.com
• Keep an eye out for Onyx the book vending machine at the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls club
• @thenoirbookshop on social
• @YmaniWince on Instagram