Nkenge the host of the book store, whom from the website I learn wears a lot of hats. This beautiful Queen of a woman, exercise much, very much patience with me. When entering the book store I informed her that I was there on official school business and as I talked my eyes kept wandering to the shelves of shelves of shelves of African and African-American books. It is very safe to say she noticed my distraction and informed me that others who’ve came on official school business had pen and paper and questioned her about the book store, the cultural center and the church (really give me a break I hadn’t been there in so long and the books were calling me, I promise you as I walked by, I truly truly was trying to pay attention and get done what I was there for, I promise). Anyway, everyone there was really very nice to me, when you walk in there is a bulletin board with flyers, annocunments, business cards, events etc. and shelves of all those lovely books, stepping forward and to the right that is where the children literature, poetry, photography, mask (and me without asking I believe it is the start of the African Holocaust Museum. Stepping in and to the right new and best sellers, the security guard, stepping through a large doorway there is the feminist section, on the right you could purchase wood carvings, sculptures like Annie lee, cash out and African appelle, wedding accessories, oils, post cards and jewelry. Ok, I did get in a couple of questions before I totally got lost in the books, I asked when was the bookstore open and Nkenge gave me a brief history of the church, then cultural and book store, but I didn’t have a pencil, pen or paper so I didn’t remember.

I don’t want to over shadow the fact that The Shrine of the Black Madonna has a very long and strong history here in Detroit, the church leader, Clamming was held in the light of a Marcus Garvey or Eldrige Clever and it is said the he is in part responsible for African-Americans in positions of power, politics. Then there is the cultural and bookstore on Livernois, and the African Holocaust Museum which I was very surprised I didn’t remember them having it when I was coming to the book store. The Shrine is where I met several writers with the one being the best and the most inspiring was Walter Mosley, whom advice to me was to keep writing, to write everyday and to set time aside for it if I was serious at least four hours a day to dedicate to my craft. I met the team of Queens (photography book), Michael Cunningham & George Alexander, Pearl Cleage writer of What Look like Crazy on an ordinary Day I think it is safe to say she had been married to Miles Davis and I read his autobiography and still can’t say for sure if it was her, I also met Alonso King writer of on the down-low and had to leave early when Zane was there, I missed J. California Cooper, E. Lynn Harris and Iyanla Vanzant. Now when I was attending before and when I met Walter Mosley they used the upstairs and by the time I met the brothers of Queen they had set aside a section on the side of the children literature and photo-books for and intimate gathering chairs neatly lined and a section near the front set aside for the author or whoever, surrounded by mask and things. I did ask if their where any events as far as authors book signing coming up and she informed me that they normally did that during the fall summer turn outs aren’t that great and also most authors are on vacation during the summer (here insert me day-dreaming of being off on a boat surrounded by water, sipping on a glass of shade, I had just won the Pulitzer Prize for literature and it was summer and I was vacationing). I awaken to see that hopefully I was not talking my day dream aloud. I thought of all the writers I had met also at different events ones whom I seem to stand out with, (Toni Morrison, Jayne Cortez, Michelle Gibbs, not in such a good way Sonia Sanchez, Jessica Care Moore and those who didn’t seem to notice or not notice either way Nikki Giovanni cute little girl) ok so Nkenge caught me day dreaming again. Now with the couple of dollars I had with me in my purse I was able to walk away from the Shrine with two books. I carried a bell hooks book around with me the entire time I was there but I put it back so I could get two. I am such a diehard book shopper I search and found a book that cost $3.95, New African Literature and the Arts 2, three-dollars and ninety-five cents amazing! The book is so very exciting as well I couldn’t believe it and it was like the book was sitting there waiting on me I felt so special. First line on the back cover, “An African poet weeps for a black American child lynched in Mississippi”, how could this book not had been waiting for me, knowing my situation! Then another one of my favorite authors John Edgar Wideman with none other than Romare Bearden on the cover $6 and some change come on now, you can’t tell me that this was not in the cards!!! I am trying to hold my excitement in and I ask Mrs. Nkenge if she had any literature booklets, pamphlets, business cards anything that I could get the information about the Shrine off so I could write a three-page paper since I spent most of the time I had available in search of my purchases and since I hadn’t came prepared in the first place (fate). With a sincere, yet possibly concerned look on her face (for my grade, she knew I sort-of jacked-up my time, probably over heard my conversation on the phone with my son for the third time telling him I was about to be on my way), she told me to go on to the website, that there was a lot of information about the Shrine there. My first visit back to the Shrine was wonderful in truth this is not the paper I wanted to write. I wanted to write about the history and not my experience because the history of the Shrine is very important to Detroit history; they also have chapters in other cities. Hopefully another one of my classmates got into this illustrious history. It was wonderful going back inside the Shrine and I promised some books we would see each other again real soon.