A Shade of Gray Offers Multiple Perspectives

Before Tiffany Dow and Robin Cain opened A Shade of Gray Bookstore, a feminist store with an African-American slant, in Indianapolis, Indiana, last May, they visited other feminist bookstores -- Antigone Books in Tucson, Arizona, and Women and Children First in Chicago -- and researched African-American bookstores, including African-American Images, also in Chicago. "We liked how those bookstores filled a need in the community," said Dow. "We wanted to try our hand at that."

Dow and Cain, who are life partners as well as business partners, opened A Shade of Gray Bookstore, in part, to fill a need left by the closing of a local African-American bookstore several years ago. In addition to its feminist/African-American focus, the bookstore also maintains strong LGBT sections. The couple decided not to open as a LGBT store, however, since that niche was already filled by Out Word Bound bookstore, with which A Shade of Gray plans on partnering for future events. "We decided to be more feminist and black-centered," said Dow. "I'm black and Robin is white, but we're both feminists, so we wanted to create a woman-centered space."

Author autographing with Mindy Weaver-Flask, Kate Chaplin, and Debra Kemp.

To create the right environment, the bookstore is filled with posters of Sandra Day O'Connor, Sojourner Truth, Abigail Adams, Wilma Rudolph, Jane Addams, Mary McLeod Bethune, Susan B. Anthony, and Helen Keller. The women's images surround the approximately 2,000 titles on Black Studies, Lesbian-Centered Fiction, Women-Centered Fiction, Urban Lit, Memoirs/Biography, History, and more. The Children's Section also has Girl-Centered and Black-Centered books, with a strong representation from the publisher Just Us Books. Top sellers include many of bell hook's books, books on Malcolm X, Lalita Tademy's Red River (Warner); Carter Godwin Woodson's The Miseducation of the Negro; and books by lesbian author Val McDermid.

The 1,200-square-foot, window-filled location is within a few miles of two universities. The store has a small stage, which is used as a display space for the works of local authors, as well as for readings, and several reading chairs and sofas are distributed around the sections. "It's a comfortable space," said Dow.

Though open for less than a year, the bookstore has become very involved in the community. A Shade of Gray has partnered with Women Writing for a Change to offer writing workshops, holds a bimonthly Knitting/Crocheting Night -- with all completed items donated to the homeless -- and hosts a lesbian social group in its community meeting space. Dow is also a regular guest on a gay and lesbian-themed radio show based in Bloomington. In addition to increasing awareness of A Shade of Gray on the program, during which she reads her LGBT book reviews, Dow also mentions Out Word Bound.

Both women's work in the community extends beyond the bookstore. Cain is a Special Ed teacher in the Indianapolis public school system, and Dow works with a local United Way grant-giving organization.

Dow reported that in the past year, she and Cain have had a considerable learning experience, and are now beginning to "find their strengths." A surprising strength that she found within Indianapolis, she said, was its accepting environment. "[A Shade of Gray] is very obviously a women-centered bookstore, but men have told us that they feel welcome here. We've even had some conservative Christians come in. They might not buy anything, but they've been more open than I would have thought." --Karen Schechner