It’s not every day you enter a bookstore with a burnt orange couch. Even more rare- a
Black woman-owned bookstore almost exclusively featuring Black women authors.
Zora’s Place in Evanston has both.
L’OREAL THOMPSON PAYTON: “It is very chaotic in the world right now and I
want this place to be a sanctuary, a safe space.”
That was L’Oreal Thompson Payton, owner and founder of Zora’s Place. She is an
author, journalist, yoga instructor, mother and lover of books.
L’OREAL: “ Starting a bookstore was not on my 2025 bingo card by any means,
and it all came together so quickly. But I do believe that’s in large part because of
the serendipity of like, it was meant to be here in this space amongst other black-
owned businesses in this time as well.”
Zora’s Place is the first and only Black woman-owned bookstore in Evanston. It also
exists in a space for and by Black creatives. The Aux opened in May 2025 on
Washington Street. It’s a collective of more than ten small businesses, all centered
around wellness and racial equity.
L’OREAL: “That idea of reinvesting in our community, pouring our dollars back
into other businesses, you know, business owners who look like me and they’re
trying to, you know, do something for their families, like leave behind this legacy
that’s all very important to me and everyone in this space as well.”
Zora’s Place is named after author, filmmaker and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston.
Her work was some of the first to feature Black life in the south.
Hurston’s novels are just a few of the ones featured in the store.
L’Oreal didn’t come to the idea of a bookstore by coincidence. She says it’s the best
medium to send a message.
L’OREAL: “Books are under fire, honestly. And so it feels like this is my form of
protest and activism is to stand 10 toes down and be like, we’re highlighting and
promoting black women authors and black women owned businesses.”
Banned books are becoming more common. PEN America says the U.S. saw the
highest number of book bans during the 2023-2024 school year. A large number of
these books were written by Black authors.
But, unlike other trends that may die with the test of time, books last forever.
L’OREAL: ”Books are, I mean, they just opened up a world of possibilities from
the time that you are literally like a baby through, you know, we’ve had women in
their eighties coming in here as well, and there’s just something about the worlds
that books can transport you into.”
Evanston is no stranger to promoting the well-being of the Black community. It has a
rich history of advocating for and protecting Black entrepreneurs, business owners and
residents. In 2019, Evanston made history as the first city in the US to fund reparations
for its Black residents.
L’OREAL: “ In Evanston we are still the minority, but we have a very strong
presence and we just deserve the world and more so, this is my effort to help
support that.”
For WNUR News, I’m Jessica Watts.