Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Collins

Amber, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

My journey was ignited by a profound spiritual calling, compelling her to take action for racial healing, peace, and unity in her community, triggered by the tragic death of George Floyd. Her unwavering love for books, combined with the need to diversify the literary landscape, inspired her to create a welcoming space where diverse voices are represented. In 2020, despite the challenges of the pandemic, Soul Book Nook opened its doors, reflecting Amber’s steadfast commitment to fostering an inclusive and educational environment. Taking inspiration from the biblical story of the Widow Woman and Elijah’s question, “What do you have in your hand?” Amber’s work embodies the transformative power of using available resources to effect meaningful change. Her tireless efforts echo the legacy of The Aquarian Bookstore, a historical and enduring institution based in Los Angeles, serving as a beacon of hope and inspiration in her mission to cultivate a more inclusive literary landscape.”

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

The road forward has been more like an uneven cobbled road, not smooth at all. Scripture tells us to not “despise the day of small beginnings” so I value and appreciate the life changing challenges I’ve experienced, and digested. I’ve grown inwardly and how I view my community is like looking through a prism as a woman, black, and an entrepreneur and how they merge in the end. The struggles have included having to work a second job while (statistics states that African American woman get 1% of grants and usually have to work a second job while owning a business compared to counterparts)

“And yet, according to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, only 1% of Black business owners are able to obtain loans in their founding year, compared with 7% of White business owners. (Accion Funding Group, 2024).

There’s also movement in government to block aid to black owned businesses.

who acquire grants, start up loans, working capital, and systemic racial strategies that limit growth and the ability to stay in the game as a local small business. Competitors who have been funded replicating services, name of company in various forms, diverting customers and media. Larger corporations opening in close proximity like within blocks selling products at a lower price. These strategies work to limit Indies from being able to purchase more products such as New Releases, best sellers, diverse novelties and other products that would support revenue. Indies still have overhead expenses for their physical brick and mortar locations. In addition, a new, recent barrier was a new policy that forbade us from placing our products out for public view in front of our spaces for visibility unless we could pay a high fee. These strategies, challenges often has black owned small businesses contributing more of personal income to support the business.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

I am born a Creative, my Artistry is serving youth and the homeless, and those in despair who feel as if there’s no hope. Life just keep Lifing, I heard. I create life with my words, and I love speaking into others lives, and seeing that flicker of hope and possibilities ignite in their eyes. It’s really a wonderful, inspiring, thing to see that we humans have the power to speak life. That is why in spite of this hard thing to keep my business of selling books, literacy, educating the masses, and dotting Waterloo with a diversity in the landscape, I just speak life over my business, goals, and I fight the good fight of faith. I mean God created light by saying “Let there be light, and there was light”. I recently became a licensed Evangelist Missionary, and that is an action word. I allows me the mechanism to serve at a deeper, and more grassroots, capacity those that are out there on our streets, in our mental health agencies, in foster care, nursing homes. I paint peoples lives. I’m an artist. I am really gifted at creating programs that serve the community when I see the need of a community, school. I do this as a licensed substitute in the school system and a behavioral worker in the mental health arena, and in community as an outreach worker.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?

People! Women! Children! Women and children are my passion and intentional pursuit, my energy, is to make sure they are OK. I am in need in many areas, however, I am never at peace when these two populations are not Ok. What matters to me is justice and righteousness. It’s not alright when an individual or group of people believe they are entitled to all of the world’s resources, and prosperity, while judging others are not. That’s madness! That’s injustice and that’s unrighteousness. It would not be Ok for me to be so self absorbed by my wants and needs and forget those who are worse off than I am. So I use my grit, strength (from God the joy of the Lord is my strength), my education, experiences, knowledge, networks to try to create or develop and implement ideas to help.

Pricing:

• Lowest Prices Rare Collections

Contact Info:

• Website: https://soulbooknook.com
• Instagram: soulbooknook
• Facebook: @soulbooknook
• Youtube: bookwrangler
• Other: Soul Book Nook Google

Image Credits

Amber Collins