Gye Nyame Books & More recently opened at fifteenTWELVE Creative Compound, 1512 Portland Ave. in Louisville, Ky. LEO Weekly reported that in the '80s and '90s, owner Lisa Bennett and her former husband ran Kente International, an African imports store on Bardstown Road in the Highlands. Although the store closed in the early 2000s, Bennett "never lost her entrepreneurial spirit. She has been a staple of the annual Reggae and World Fests here in town, and has even been known to invite customers to her home to shop."
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| Lisa Bennett | |
After rebranding a few years ago to Gye Nyame, she began looking to open a storefront, which finally happened last month. Although once again a family business, now it is primarily a collective of the women in Bennett's family, including her business partner, Jacy "Prolific Jones" Britt, and her daughter, Amina Thompson.
Promoting literacy in the Black community of Louisville is "very important to the women of Gye Nyame, and they stock books that are written by a variety of African authors with an emphasis on African history and children's literature," LEO Weekly noted, adding that they "are committed to highlighting work by and for people of the African diaspora, and are excited to be the only Black-owned bookstore in Louisville."
When asked how Louisville can best support Gye Nyame beyond spending money in the store, "they all said to attend the community events they're planning in the space at fifteenTWELVE," LEO Weekly wrote. "They are planning events for all ages, like Black History Trivia Night, story times, poetry readings, and more. The goal is to be able to eventually grow out of the Portland space and move Gye Nyame to the West End and into a building that they can restore."