Yusef Harris has been operating an independent bookstore in Nashville for almost 30 years. Alkebu-Lan Images, on Jefferson Street in North Nashville, is housed in a former gas station, and its shelves practically spill over with academic tomes from civil rights activists alongside traditional fairy tales reworked for African-American kids, T-shirts emblazoned with portraits of Nelson Mandela and Redd Foxx, health products like organic shea butter and Nubian Heritage soaps, and complex West African mud-cloth textiles.
What drove your decision to open this store?
My field of study is psychology, and I recognize that to help people have more positive self-esteem and self-concept, they need to read more and be conscious of their culture and heritage and history — especially African-Americans. So as a way to try to instill and improve a person's self-concept about themselves, this is my practice, in a way.
When did you open?
In 1986. I was in graduate school when I opened the store, and I really didn't have a plan. But the property went up for sale, and I thought it would be a good investment. I was working on my Ph.D. at Vanderbilt, and teaching part time at TSU.
Do you feel like there's a community that's grown over the years?
Yes, sometimes I feel like I'm getting old, because I'll have people come in and tell me how their parents used to shop here.
That shows your influence.
Right, right. I appreciate it, and it makes me feel good. People remember coming in here when they were little. We used to host storytelling here, and the parents would bring their children in, and they told me that it had really made a difference. It's empowering, because a lot of the time we don't recognize the importance of reading. It's not prioritized enough, especially among African-Americans. Getting parents to value reading and storytelling is so important.
Why is that?
It can enhance bonding between a parent and a child. If you have a child in your hand and a book in their face and they're looking at you, they're listening to what you say. And then they'll listen to you still when they're teenagers, which is when they'll really need it. There's a lot of learning that can take place. And it will help them excel in school. When my son was in kindergarten, he was the only one in his class who could already read, so they advanced him to first grade. He went to elementary school in Nashville, and he went forward and got a four-year scholarship to college. I attribute that to his reading skills. Children can love books, we just have to show the excitement and create enthusiasm around literacy.
More From the 2015 People Issue
The Textile Designer: Andra Eggleston / The Transformer: Bill Schleicher / The Chief: Steve Anderson / The Bookseller: Yusef Harris / The Producer: Dave Cobb / The Rookie: Filip Forsberg / The Pedal Steel-Playing Pilot: Joshua Motohashi / The Weathermen: David Drobny & Will Minkoff / The Punk Neuroscientist: Kale Edmiston / The Kitchen Artist: Karla Ruiz / The Metalhead: Kayla Phillips / The Image Master: kogonada / The Bartender: Lee Parrish / The Professor: Lisa Guenther / The Advocate: Marisa Richmond / The Captains: Kellie Hurst & Regina Durkan / The Painter: Michael Shane Neal / The Tunesmith: Shane McAnally
