We were lucky to catch up with Tyree Jennings recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tyree , thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
The mission of The Black Book Club is complicated in its simplicity really. As a teenager, I fell out of love with literature and only came back in my middle twenties. That was between five to ten years of time I could have been reading James Baldwin and Toni Morrison books, I can’t imagine where my mentality would be had i not had that love broken. I believe the reason for this break, among other things was the fact I wasn’t offered books from authors that looked like me. The Black Book Club mission is to provide those books to help fill in those gaps to keep the youth in love with literature. We want to present the literature in a way that is appealing to the youth. So everything is intentional, from the way we speak about the books to the music we post on our page, we want to show that “reading is cool”. The information we’re given in school is so slanted, reading is how we get a more balanced knowledge base. Now more than ever, our history is being made harder to learn, independent research is the only way we can put up a fight. I represent that fight.
Also on a personal level, I’ve always thought of myself as a “nerd”. But when I became a teenager I became preoccupied with being what I was assuming would be “cool”. This led to me being outside and making some choices I now realize weren’t the best. I think by presenting the title of “nerd” as something positive I can hopefully present a balanced image for other young black men and women dealing with the pressure of upholding this archaic definition of “cool” or being pushed into the box of “manhood” which tells us to lessen our intelligence.. We are so much more than these definitions, but as we go towards breaking free from them, I want to help to change the definitions and freedom within them.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
The way I got into the bookstore business is funny really. After watching the first black panther movie, I was up in the middle of the night looking for something on YouTube from the movie. I ended up looking at something completely different, but that was fate. That search sent me into a completely different thought pattern and I ended up wanting to help build a library in Africa. My family ended up collecting 1000 books and sending them to Africa for the library. From that, I wanted to do something on the local level. The Black Book Club grew from that. What I can say that I’m most proud about is when I suggest a book to somebody and I end up being able to speak with them again and they tell me how much the book changed their mentality for the better. It is such an amazing feeling for me personally because I can say without doubt that books saved my life, and have made me a better person.
How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.
I chose to sell my products on my own shopify platform (theblackbookclub.net) for a few reasons. First, Amazon is the antithesis for a black owned bookstore. I wanted to be able to control how my products are presented and how my platform will look to customers. I also believe that using my platform assures me a certain level of control. Amazon demands most of the profit from independent authors, by using my own platform I am able to offer them a better experience through my company.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Owning a business is really unpredictable and can be uncomfortable at times. I have made every mistake you can imagine. I remember listing books that I no longer had, when they were ordered I had to go and purchase the books again and sell them, sometimes I lost money on that deal but the client experience is more important because I want them to enjoy supporting a small business. I’ve had books lost in the mail, I’ve had them damaged in the mail and had to replace them. With every level you ascend to, there will be mistakes. It’s a marathon!!
Contact Info:
- Website: Theblackbookclub.net
- Instagram: @theblackbookclub1
- Youtube: The Black Book Club