SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2024
| own home and one he bought from a bookstore that was shutting down. The books lining the shelves were either bought from Goodwill or, to his wife’s dismay, carted in from their home library.
“I wouldn’t even call it inventory when we first started,” Nervis said. “It was mostly books that I liked to read.”
The business grew in the following months, and in January 2020, Nervis moved the store to its current location in the Eastlake Park district.
Eastlake Park, located near 16th and Jefferson streets and considered the oldest park in the city, became the “focal point” of Black history in Phoenix, according to the city’s website.
The park was an important gathering place during decades of segregation when Black people were not welcome in other areas, generally north of Van Buren Street, and forced to attend segregated schools.
“There’s so much history here,” Nervis said. “I’ve been passionate about this area for a long time. Having an opportunity to have a business here is incredible because Eastlake is a historic Black district.”
With a new storefront, more furniture, an expanding inventory and a kitchen space they would later turn into a cafe, things were looking good for Grassrootz.
That was until Covid hit, and like so many other businesses, Grassrootz had to close its doors to the public.
With no website, barely any social media presence and only operating a few days a week, the small-scale business was at risk of going under. The months that followed, however, would launch Grassrootz onto the national stage.
Amid worldwide Black Lives Matter protests that took place after the death of George Floyd in March 2020, movements popped up across the country calling on people to support Blackowned businesses and to educate themselves on Black history.
Being the only Black-owned bookstore in Arizona at the time, Grassrootz was at the top of the list on multiple websites telling readers where to buy their books. In two days, the store received almost 100 online orders for “White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo.
It took time for the small business to adjust to the influx of demands, but Nervis noted that the support the bookstore received from online attention was pivotal.
Future plans: More than a bookstore
Expanding Grassrootz into community investment and transforming it into a worker-owned entity are two goals he has for the business in the coming years.
Nervis said his long-term vision involves a business-community ecosystem in which Grassrootz can invest in local movement organizations that help solve community issues. Community members and movement organizations could also share some type of ownership of the business, similar to its worker-owner model.
The business runs on partial worker ownership, while more managerial tasks aren’t shared by all employees, Nervis said.
Converting to a completely workerowner entity would help financially support employees in addition to their wages and would grant them decisionmaking power. As for that process, Nervis said figuring out how to make the shift will be a “fun and interesting challenge.”
There’s still a lot of work to do, according to the business owner, but he’s already seeing the fruits of his efforts to bring the community together in small ways. To find this fostered connection, look no further than Nervis’s favorite store event: an open chess tournament held every Sunday.
“You’ll come in, and you’ll see a 9year-old across the table from an 80year-old. They’re engaging, having fun, and learning, and each one is teaching the other one something. It’s a true sense of community,” he said. “To see that in this space after struggling to try and figure this whole thing out for the last couple of years is extremely rewarding.”
In less than ten years, Nervis has thoughtfully used his ambitions to serve the people around him and has made even bigger plans for the upward mobility of his community. Inspired by words from his favorite book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” by Martin Luther King Jr., Nervis understood what was necessary to get him where he is today.
In the soft spoken words of a small business owner, it takes courage, love and honesty to overcome oppression.