Two South African residents in the United States are delighting book lovers with a shop full of books by black authors paired with delicious coffee and pastries. Rofhiwa Book Café was launched this year by the South African power duo Boitumelo Makhubele, who is the founder and Naledi Yaziyo, who is curator. Boitumelo is a Computer Science student at North Carolina A&T and known for their work in community organizing and activism. They have done a lot to foster safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ people of color. Naledi is a Doctoral Student in Cultural Anthropology at Duke University. Naledi’s writing has appeared in Africa is A Country, The Daily Vox and The Mail & Guardian. Together they’ve established this beautiful space for the celebration of black literatures in all their global diversity.
Rofhiwa Book Café is located in Durham, North Carolina. The space is tastefully designed and cozy. Durham residents go there for books and coffee but also to enjoy book events, art exhibitions, and more. When we first learned about the book shop, we just had to know more. Here is the chat we had via email with Boitumelo and Naledi about the inspiration behind the project. Read more.