Urban Reads Bookstore, Baltimore, Md., has been dealing with a barrage of racist harassment and threats since about February, WMAR2 reported.
Store owner Tia Hamilton said she has shared more than 500 calls, messages, and posts with the police, the FBI, and Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. She told WMAR2 that she receives more "every day," with texts and calls arriving from numbers in nearly 10 states.
Hamilton added that she refuses to back down, and explained that when she receives a racist or threatening message on social media, she posts the users' profiles. Asked how community members and others can help Urban Reads, Hamilton suggested buying a book, donating to the store's prison literacy program, and standing up for the bookstore.
"Just protect my store, because my store is your store," Hamilton said. "We hold meetings in here, book signing kids events, children literacy programs, protect the environment. It's just not protecting me, it's protecting Urban Reads and protecting what we love in the Waverly community."