Mary Taris began teaching in her 40s in North Minneapolis and says being the only Black teacher in a school with mostly Black students was frustrating. “My students felt invisible when they went to the library, the way I had as a child,” she explains. She recalls that when she tried to use an arts grant to encourage students to write their own autobiographies, they said, “All we can find about Black people in the library is Beyonce or Sojourner Truth or Michael Jordan!’ It was then, in 2018, that Taris decided to found her own publishing company, which is focused on giving Black voices an outlet, especially in the area of children’s books.

Strive Bookstore came to be in 2022 at the Sistah Co-op. Next to boutiques that sell candles and gifts, clothing, and greeting cards, the store featured all of Strive’s publishing as well as a wide collection of under-represented authors and indie publishers. “People come in, and they get happy—it’s beautiful,” says Taris, who adds that women-owned businesses, like her publishing company, have “more of a community, caring vibe. It feels like we’re a family learning and growing together.” The second bookstore location opened in June 2023 and features the entire Collective Book Studio catalog.