Gwen Henderson in a video promoting the Black English bookstore in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Screengrab via gwendolyn.henderson.5/Facebook

The works in Gwen Henderson’s Tampa bookstore are emancipated, but organizations that want to highlight the councilwoman’s shop apparently don’t enjoy the same freedom.

This week on social media, Henderson, a retired educator, said that “a pretty prominent marketing firm” decided to take down a video showcasing her Black English Bookstore after the company received pressure from a government client.

Henderson was elected to represent Tampa’s District 5 in 2023, and operates Black English—located at 401 E Oak Ave.—independent of her job as a civil servant.

She did not name the firm that produced the video, but a separate post on Henderson’s personal page says the “Black Moves” clip was created by PPK Advertising & Production.

Garrett Garcia, President at PPK told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that early this week, his firm made the decision to pause all content on its digital channels that could be interpreted as DEI-related.

“This decision was made entirely out of an abundance of caution based on articles like this one published last week in Bloomberg,” Garcia added. “We felt it was in the best interest of our business and our employees to pause these initiatives until we have time to review it in greater detail and to understand the nuances of all rapidly changing policies of the DOJ and US Attorney General.”

Forbes has also reported that Trump’s new Attorney General, Tampa-woman Pam Bondi, “directed the Justice Department to ‘investigate, eliminate, and penalize’ private companies and universities that have “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion programs.”

The two-minute clip features Henderson talking in the Tampa Heights shop where art on the walls includes a painting of the famed author and activist James Baldwin, and others. In the feature, Henderson describes her shop as a place where Black people can see themselves when they walk in. Work by Former Georgia State Rep. Stacey Abrams, Kennedy Ryan (the first Black winner of a RITA Award for romantic fiction), and “Top Chef” finalist Gregory Gourdet are among the titles on the shelves.

“There’s not a ‘banned’ section, because the books are free here,” Henderson says in the promo.

She adds that non-Black authors aren’t segregated from the rest of the inventory. “They get to come to the cookout. They mixed in with us. They don’t get a special table, a section, they are in here.”

Henderson also spoke freely about her disappointment when she posted a statement to the shop’s page. The video, she said, was her most popular post to date, adding that she was shocked by the takedown.

“A little bookstore in Tampa, Florida, celebrating Black History Month,” she said, talking about how proud she is of the shop that opened in December 2023, and how happy she was to work with PPK. “This is the bullshit that’s happening in our country right now. Even a little tiny bookstore can be impacted.”

In the three weeks since the inauguration of Donald Trump, the boogeyman status of three letters—DEI, which stands for “diversity, equity, and inclusion—has been amplified. The president himself tried to blame an aviation crash on DEI initiatives, which are meant to address and correct discriminatory policies or practices that may be found within an organization. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has also demonized DEI and signed legislation to change how colleges teach history and other subjects.

Henderson said that PPK is also angry about the development.

At the end of her social media video, Henderson said she thought about her late mother as she wrestles with the development, and is choosing to move on and not worry about it.

“I know that great things will continue to happen to Black English bookstore despite the federal government going after firms who are supportive of what they consider DEI initiatives,” she said.

Black English Bookstore

401 East Oak Ave., Tampa, FL

website

UPDATED 02/14/25 4:03 p.m. Updated with comment from Garrett Garcia, President of PPK, with links to articles covering the DOJ’s approach to DEI.

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