Bookstore Block Party Advances Progressive Politics in Buffalo, NY
On Sunday, July 28, 2024, Burning Books bookstore hosted their third annual community block party at 420 Connecticut Street on the West Side of Buffalo, NY, raising awareness for local social justice campaigns and providing family recreation for West Side residents.
Over 100 Buffalo residents braved the scorching 90-degree late July heat to enjoy the various attractions, including a giant bounce house obstacle course, dunk tank, and community tables and booths hosted by progressive community organizations like PUSH-Buffalo, Democratic Socialists of America, and Urban Roots.
Burning Books, located on Connecticut St. in Buffalo. (Photo: Steve Peraza/Weave News)
Burning Books wears its progressive political orientation as a badge of honor. As a “radical bookstore,” Burning Books carries books that “focus exclusively on social justice issues and work to support individuals and movements that are struggling against oppression and domination in all forms.”
Community politics permeated the block party. (Photos: Steve Peraza/Weave News)
Highlighting local social justice issues
At the community tables, local organizations advertised active issue campaigns, signing up members to support.
At the PUSH-Buffalo table, for example, block party attendees could learn about the Proactive Rental Inspections Law (PRI), which is aimed at reducing childhood lead poisoning. The law passed in 2020, but the City of Buffalo has not enforced it. With help from Partnership for the Public Good, PUSH-Buffalo and over 30 additional partners have filed a class action lawsuit for “failing to implement its proactive rental inspection program.”
Dunking the court
Fighting for social justice, however, need not be all fire and brimstone. Burning Books made sure it was fun, too. The dunk tank is a case in point. For several hours, neighborhood kids and their parents threw balls at a target that dunked selfless volunteers, dressed in Supreme Court justice gowns and white curly wigs, into a 3-4-foot tank filled with water. The mock justices carried signs with perceived social injustices that have been sanctioned by the United States high court. Kids could be seen washing away racism, sexism, and other systems, structures, and laws which have targeted vulnerable social groups.
Community members made sure the Supreme Court was all wet at the dunk tank. (Photos: Steve Peraza/Weave News)
The block party on Connecticut Avenue intersected with Garden Walk Buffalo, the annual flower festival, which attracted flower enthusiasts from in and out of the Greater Niagara region. The timing was intentional. As one Burning Books staff member noted, it is just as important for visitors to see the beauty in community members and their commitment to social justice as it is to fawn over Buffalo’s flora.
