Underground Books: Home
Let’s Read Oak Park
Underground Books
Let’s Read Oak Park is a FREE reading & exploration event for children ages 5-12
About this event
Elementary school aged children explore books and participate in hands on activities with an emphasis on cultural themes. Students will engage in interactive book readings, and select a free book of their choice to take home and encourage reading together as a family!
Space is limited to 12 per event so sign up today!
Community BBQ + Backpack Giveaway
St. HOPE
Let’s kick off the upcoming School Year with Food, Fun, & Community!
About this event
Bring your family out to St.HOPE’s Community BBQ and Backpack Giveaway, on Friday, August 19 from 4pm to 6pm!
We’re going to have a delicious BBQ, fun activities, school supplies, and much more. Don’t miss out!
Students will receive a FREE Backpack and Supplies!
Let’s Read Oak Park
Underground Books
Let’s Read Oak Park is a FREE reading & exploration event for children ages 5-12
About this event
Elementary school aged children explore books and participate in hands on activities with an emphasis on cultural themes. Students will engage in interactive book readings, and select a free book of their choice to take home and encourage reading together as a family!
Space is limited to 12 per event so sign up today!
Let’s Read Oak Park is presented by St. HOPE and in sponsorship with the Sacramento Region Community Foundation.
Local Pop-Up Vendor: VanesScents
Underground Books
Join us for a another special pop-up event with one of our favorite local vendors Vanessa Dickerson’s VanesScents who returns with her ever popular hand crafted soy wax candles and fragrant oils.
Sacramento-area bookstores celebrate their day with tour for bibliophiles (April 30)
The Sacramento Bee
Underground Books manager Georgia West, commonly known as “Mother Rose,” of Oak Park, admires a photo of a child with “Black Santa” during the second annual Christmas in Oak Park event Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, at the bookstore and neighboring The Guild Theater. “For kids to see a Santa Claus that looks like them for a change … I mean any Santa is good, but I just think we need some options,” West said. “It’s a diverse community, and so we want diversity, we want everybody to come,” she added, “but I just think, for us, this is a great option and a great event.”
‘A place where we can show Black excellence’: Inside Sacramento region’s only Black-owned bookstore
KCRA - February 3, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
The Sacramento region’s only Black-owned bookstore can be found in the heart of Oak Park.
Underground Books opened its doors in 2003 to fill a need in its community: There are no public libraries in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood.
“If people don’t benefit, if the community doesn’t benefit, then we’re doing something wrong,” Cassandra Jennings told KCRA 3.
Let’s Read Oak Park
Launch of New St. HOPE Reading Initiative
With a new focus on racial injustice, there is a spotlight on the sobering statistics in the reading levels between black and white students. In 2019, The Nation’s Report Card from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that just 15% of Black 8th graders were at or above reading “proficiency.” About half didn’t even reach the “basic” reading benchmark.
Underground Books: Gift Ideas
December 16, 2021
Still need ideas for gift giving? Ashley Williams is in Sacramento at Underground Books giving you great book gift giving ideas.
Colour of Music Festival Debuts in Sacramento November 10-13
We are thrilled to welcome the Colour of Music Festival to Sacramento! Since 2013, the Colour of Music Festival has showcased the talents of black classical musicians and composers and highlighted their impact and historical significance on American and world culture. The Festival began with performances in Charleston, South Carolina and is now bringing some of the top black classical musicians, trained at some of the most prestigious music schools, conservatories and universities in the world, to Sacramento.
Journey to the Future with St. HOPE’s New CEO, Cassandra Jennings
Dear St. HOPE friends, family and community,
I feel so blessed to be at St. HOPE and back in the Oak Park neighborhood in this season of my personal and professional journey, so I can continue to pour into the community that has been a part of my life for over three decades. My kids attended school in Oak Park; I worship in Oak Park; and both my husband and I worked for many years to improve the lives of Oak Park residents and to support the mission of St. HOPE to revitalize the community. I recall some of the initiatives I worked on over the years, including street clean ups, first time homebuyer programs, the St. HOPE after school program,
To & Through College Starts Today with PS7 Elementary TK/Kindergarten
Your scholar’s journey to and through college starts today with PS7 Elementary’s TK/Kindergarten program. Offering a FULL day program for both TK & Kindergarten, scholars are in school from 7:30AM to 3:00PM. PS7 Elementary also offers an after-school program, which runs until 6:00 PM, and provides enrichment opportunities such as Sac Theatre Company and Music In Motion.
New Guild Theater Concert Series
The Guild Theater is kicking off a new concert series starting August 13th with R&B group, Troop! Troop, which stands for Total Respect for Other People, is known for a series of number-one R&B hits, including popular cover versions of the songs “All I Do Is Think of You” and “Sweet November”, originally performed by The Jackson 5 and The Deele. They also had a number-one hit with their original song “Spread My Wings”.
‘Getting the recognition it deserves’: Community prepares for Juneteenth celebrations in Sacramento
KCRA 6.17.21
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Juneteenth celebrations in Northern California are scheduled throughout the weekend.
The president and CEO of the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce said not only does it mark a celebration for the emancipation of slaves in 1863, but it’s also a celebration for those who finally learned of their freedom two years later.
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Events Around Sacramento Celebrate First Nationally Recognized Juneteenth
CBS 13 Sacramento 6.19.21
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Several events celebrating Juneteenth happened across Sacramento on Saturday.
There were calls for not only action, but reflection, bringing both joy and determination in the fight for progress.
READ MORE:Fourth Stimulus Check: Will You Get Another Relief Payment?
Events varied from soul music and dancing in Oak Park to art and vendors all highlighting black beauty and business at one of the longest-running Juneteenth festivals in Sacramento on June 19, 2021, which was taking on new meaning.
As St. HOPE president and CEO steps down, a familiar face is taking on the position
Sacramento Bee 6.9.21
Jake Mossawir is looking forward to focusing on the next chapter of his life, his family, as he expects to become a father to a baby girl this fall.
The St. HOPE President and CEO announced that he is stepping away after six years with the organization in an email to St. Hope students and families.
Mossawir and his wife are expecting a daughter and plan to relocate to Texas to start their family.
Sacramento area’s independent bookstores celebrate coming through the pandemic with a special event
The Sacramento News and Review
Young people get into their book groove at Crawford’s Books in Sacramento.
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From Davis to El Dorado Hills, the struggle to protect local book culture from a black swan event was waged by workers and customers alike
Underground Books Gets New Look
The Sacramento Observer
(OAK PARK) – Every closed door isn’t locked. A local Black bookstore used its time closed during the pandemic wisely, completing a remodel and rebranding campaign.
Underground Books Grand Re-Opening
A local bookstore has done some remodeling and they are ready to open to the public.
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Remodeled And Expanded: Oak Park Book Store Reopens Amid Pandemic
Underground Books
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A book store in Oak Park has taken the time during the pandemic to remodel and expand – and now it’s back open.
Underground Books is operated by St. Hope, a family of neighborhood nonprofits dedicated to revitalizing Oak Park
The book store’s manager and operator has been with the store since its opening in 2003.
“We’re trying to bring art and culture to the community. There’s no library in this community, so we bring literacy and make it available for everyone,” said Georgia “Mother Rose” West.
10 Black-Owned Bookstores To Tap For Your Fall Reading List
The Zoe Report
Nothing quite says fall like hunkering down with a good book and comforting mug full of your preferred hot beverage. But no matter what it is you choose to read this season, consider picking it up from one of many Black-owned bookstores. Not only can spending your money mindfully help support Black businesses — and in turn encourage more of them — but because many of these shops specialize in books about race and culture specifically, shopping here might just inspire you to fill your fall reading list with resources that educate and inform you.
A Place to Be
BOOKSTORE IS LITERARY HUB OF OAK PARK
Within days of the tragic murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Underground Books in Oak Park launched a long-planned website for the sale of literary works online.
Not only did the Sacramento community respond, people across the nation took note. In the first two months, Underground Books received nearly 2,500 orders.