A 21-year-old Black-owned bookstore and café is struggling to hold on as gentrification wrecks havoc on Washington D.C. 

The Sankofa Café was opened in 1998 and has become a staple in the community near Howard University. Film making couple Haile and Shirikiana Gerima named the bookstore and café after a Ghanaian word. "Sankofa," which means “going back to our past in order to go forward,” is also the name of their critically acclaimed film.  According to WUSA, the founders revealed a tax increase will create a financial burden they may not be able to overcome. 

"What we’re facing now with gentrification is what we’ve been facing since we’ve been here," filmmaker Shirikiana Gerima told WUSA. "On steroids."

Over the years, the café served as a meeting place of Black people from across the diaspora. A customer browsing for books or buying coffee will more than likely hear a variety of languages and dialects.

Students from Howard and Benjamin Banneker High School often frequent the cultural landmark. Not only is the bookstore a place to get a bite to eat, but it is also a center for the arts.

The café hosts film making workshops for artists in the area. Authors like Walter Mosley, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Eloise Greenfield, Tananarive Due, Sista Souljah and Ta-Nahisi Coates have also visited the café. 

However, if the tax burden remains, the historic cultural center may not last. WUSA reports the owners are facing $30,000 in property taxes annually due to the influx of white residents in the area. 

"Being in D.C. has been a lot of work in terms of our relationship with the city," Shirikiana Gerima said. "Now with gentrification, the relationship has become more hostile so that the taxes we have to pay each year – $30,000 – is completely outrageous."

The whopping tax bill and the threat of gentrification will not stop the owners from fighting back. On June 3, the owners will meet with city council members in a public hearing to discuss solutions for the tax issue.

A tax abatement bill drafted by Councilwoman Brianne Nadeau will be among the solutions. If passed, the bill will waive taxes from October 2019 to September 2029. 

"I don’t want the city to feel like they’re doing me a favor," Shirikiana Gerima said. "They should be saying ‘thank you Lordy’ because businesses like this have contributed to the strength of the city."

With the recent kerfuffle over white pet owners violating the Yard at Howard, the café founders are encouraging the public to come out and support. 

GentrificationSankofa