JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A new bookstore is open in Northwest Jacksonville, and it features a different concept.
Cafe Resistance aims to uplift the local Black community through some books you may not find on Florida school bookshelves.
State Representative Angie Nixon, who owns and operates the store, said it's an inclusive place where people can learn about history.
“We can learn our true history in the roots, and you know, push back against the overbearing legislature and an overbearing governor, who just really wants to keep people uneducated," Nixon said.
She’s including books challenged and banned in Florida schools, following state law requiring books to be free of pornography or certain race-based teachings.
Dozens came out Sunday to support the opening of the store.
"I love the artistry, that's the first thing. It feels like you're like going into, you just feel at home. You know, it's also a cafe," said local author, Aaron Woodson.
"This turnout is just absolutely unbelievable," another author, Gwen Tarver Lee, said.
The two, along with other community members, spent Sunday reading about their history.
“We should not be silent when it comes to speaking," Tarver Lee said.
It's encouraged at Cafe Resistance.
“That's just the truth that we want to put out there. Sometimes, the truth is hard to accept," high school senior, Victoria Spence, said.
Spence and her sister, Isabella, are young authors and came dressed as astronauts to Sunday's opening.
“That's what our book is about. About kids in STEM and us learning 'hey, it's not that you're just a basketball player or a rapper or a singer you can be so much more than that,'" Victoria Spence said.
At Cafe Resistance, every book is on the table.
“You shouldn't ban the truth, that sets people free. You should share it and you should be free to share with everybody," Victoria Spence said.
The store also features a coffee shop.