Visitors from all over Southern California lined down the block to patronize Pasadena’s newest bookstore dedicated to Black, Indigenous and people of color — Octavia’s Bookshelf.
Overjoyed owner Nikki High teared up as a collective crowd of more than 300 people on Saturday, Feb. 18, stopped to celebrate her dream.
“I am feeling deep gratitude,” she said. “I saw the line outside and, you know, in my wildest dreams, I was like, ‘Oh, gosh, I hope that I can get like 20 or 30 people to be really excited,’ and so to see it like this is a little bit overwhelming.”
“I’m missing my grandmother so hard right now,” High added.
An avid reader, High contemplated opening her own bookstore for years, but the final push came with the sudden passing of High’s grandmother and biggest supporter. In acknowledgement of this, speaker Joshua Evans, kicked off the event by paying homage to family and resiliency.
For Evans, Octavia’s Bookshelf is a symbol of progression and possibility — a space that he would have frequented as a kid.
“One of things that I personally believe is that there’s a story about Black and Brown people that is bigger than the impact of White supremacy,” Evans said looking down the line of people. “It’s a dream come true that I didn’t know that I had … it just gives people a chance to to come in, but also to develop and to meet other writers. And you always know it’s going to be a safe space. We’ll never be in danger of being minimalized or railroaded by people who are not sensitive.”
At its peak, the queue to get into the North Hill Avenue store spanned more than 10 blocks, reaching as far back as Victory Bible Church. Inside the space next to the bookstore, patrons could stop to drink complimentary coffee provided by Coffee Cart Boys, eat pastries by Butter Bakery or pick from a charcuterie spread provided by La Mesa Collective.
Despite the wait, the energy remained positive with excited smiles throughout the crowd. In a strong display of dedication, nobody hesitated to join the long queue, and no one left their places in line.
Elder Pasadena resident, Daphne Niall, was happy to wait and reasoned simply, “I read. I’m Black. And it’s my neighborhood.”
High’s independent bookstore exclusively stocks authors who are Black, Indigenous and people of color and is aptly named after Black, sci-fi author and Pasadena legend, Octavia Butler. High was inspired by Butler’s legendary work to center Black futures and perspective. Her literature is a staple of Afrofuturism, a cultural philosophy combining science, history and speculative fiction that explores the intersection of the African diaspora.
“It is still really present today, that we are imagining ourselves in a future that people don’t want to include us in. Even though we’ve been here since the beginning — We’ve been the blueprint,” said Pasadena local, Samantha Goff. “So it’s really important to just, kind of, take that narrative for ourselves. I’ve always been a big sci-fi nerd, and I got tired of reading about White boys who end up being special. Let me read about a Black woman who’s doing the damn thing instead.”
Attendee Ariel Nicole Hart was one of the first to arrive for the opening. A dual medical and PhD student at the UCLA, Hart attributes the pursuit in the sciences and passion for community organizing around health equity to Butler’s stories.
“I’m so excited about the possibilities of this bookstore,” Hart said. “I feel like it’s such a critical space for community to have another place — to not only share books but also to honor her legacy here in Pasadena.”
Local authors also attended the event, recognizing that it is a space where they can see their work celebrated.
Pasadena historian Roberta H. Martinez donated a copy of “Latinos in Pasadena,” a book she dedicated to legacies of Mexican Americans and other Latino men and women who lived and worked in Pasadena.
“To have books that are here that reflect the diversity that is part of this community is an exciting thing,” she said. “For people to be able to to see role models, to see who they might be, who they have been, how they interact with other people — its an exciting thing.”
“Ball Better Than You” is poetry aimed to inspire young girls in basketball who experience misogyny in the sport.
Author Tina Allen was born and raised in Pasadena, and is happy to have a space for representation in the city.
“It’s everything, its’ amazing,” she said. “I really like what it’s doing for independent writers, especially women of color.”
The opening was a truly family affair, among the crowd wearing official “Octavia’s Bookshelf” shirts were her friends and family — there to work the store’s opening day from shelf stocking, crowd control and trash pick up. Her cousin, Michael Sanford, snapped photos, her sister, Bethanee McKay controlled the flow of customers and High herself rang up customers.
High’s parents said they are astounded and overwhelmed by the opening’s turnout, but High’s mother, Marlene Narcisse, says she is not surprised.
“It’s just surreal,” she said. “She’s very driven. She’s very determined. The good thing about her is that, you know, she’s, she’s a humble person. Yeah. And, you know, and she’s just going to go for it.”
As the day progressed, the ever present line down Hill Ave stayed lively. Passers by stopped to ask for news, folks cheered and honked from their cars and customers gleefully shared the titles that they bought.
“It’s worth the investment to invest in small business,” said attendee Ashley Jones. “It’s easy with the advent of Amazon to take a cheaper option, but I just want to affirm that it is worth the investment to invest in our community members who are living their dreams.”
The bookstore is north of the 210 Freeway, at 1361 N. Hill Ave. and is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day.
