Gallery Plus in Leimert Park features a changing inventory of African-American art.

While many of us are checking our budget in tough times, there is a reason for optimism in Leimert Park Village, a cultural center of African-American life in Los Angeles.

The optimism shone forth during a June 6th book fair that came with the theme of “Celebrating Our Literary Legacy: Our Heritage, Our Words, Our Stories.”

Carib Press headed to Leimert Park Village — between Downtown Los Angeles and the beach city of Santa Monica — for the 3rd annual edition of the book fair on June 6th.

It soon became clear that walking is the way to take in the sights of the book fair, which set up shop on Degnan Boulevard and 43rd Place. The pedestrian-friendly village has a growing number of small businesses, including coffee houses, jazz clubs, restaurants, retail shops, and a farmers’ market every Saturday. There are more than 20 small shops lining both sides of the boulevard and a look at their wares shows an inventory of artifacts from around the world.

Ackee Bamboo Jamaican Cuisine restaurant is a relative newcomer to this established community, and it appears to have earned its spot. The place has been serving up authentic Jamaican style cooking for the past three years.

Marlene Sinclair, owner of Ackee Bamboo, says there are always exciting things going on in the village. She’s about to add to the excitement, too, with plans for an expansion project that will bring Adassa’s Cafe and Entertainment next door to her restaurant.

The Gallery Plus store in Leimert Park Village

Laura Hendrix, who owns Gallery Plus, says that the art store has been in Leimert Park Village for 18 years. She offers an array of African-American art, and the stock changes each time she returns from buying trips.

And there have been buying trips, despite the lagging economy.

“Business has been pretty good these days,” she said.

Augustus Muhammad spent time at the recent book fair promoting books of poems from a grassroots perspective.

“I was inspired by my father to write poems,” Muhammed said. “My father was searching for a positive and productive way for me to be creative with a positive perception of self.”

Haitian Entrepreneur and filmmaker Uscla “Johnny” Desarmes visited the book fair to promote his movie, titled “Life outside of Pearl.”

“I am pushing it at a grassroots level,” he said, adding that he wants to sell 500,000 copies of the movie with proceeds to benefit infrastructure work in Haiti.

The Africa By the Yard store

Oran Z of Pan African Black Facts and Wax Museum proudly displayed a waxed figure of Levar Burton in his vendor booth. His museum on 3742 West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a mile from Leimert Park Village, has a large selection of black artifacts, postcards, black wax figures, and a reference library. He says he plans to work on a poster of the legendary reggae artist, Bob Marley. He has coined himself a Posterian — someone who tells stories out of pictures and poster art.

The Leimert Park Village Book Fair encourages reading, writing, and literacy in Los Angeles and other Southern California area communities. The Book Fair provides the community access to writers and their work — and gives writers and spoken word artists a place to network with other artists, exhibitors and sponsors.

Face painting, clowns, storytellers, a crafts pavilion, and a special performance by Mayseo the Magician, were featured in the Children’s Village. A poets’ stage, Farmers Market, cooking demonstration, outdoor theatrical performances from the Pasadena Playhouse Theatre Players and the Towne Street Theatre, along with musical entertainment, rounded out the book fair.

Cynthia Exum is the producer and coordinator for the Leimert Park Village Book Fair. Various arts beyond literature were incorporated in this years’ event because “organizers are committed to supporting the community and parents with creative ways to encourage reading and writing,” she said.

Sheannette Virtue is a writer for Carib Press.

Photos by Carib Press