CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Acting as the publishing HQ for best selling authors such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Illinois Poet Laureate Angela Jackson, Third World Press on Chicago’s South Side celebrated 55 years in October 2022.
Two months later — in their busiest season just before Christmas and Kwanzaa — a flood destroyed 75% of Third World’s inventory.
“The first time I ever shed tears was when I walked into our building and saw our books floating on water,” Third World Press Founder Dr. Haki Madhubuti said.
Madhubuti founded Third World Press in 1967 and went on to build what is now the oldest, independent and continuously operating Black publishing company in the nation. Due to the flood, he said they lost out on the entire Christmas-Kwanzaa buying season.
“This is the first time in our 55 years that we have had this kind of catastrophic event,” Madhubuti said.
He told WBBM that it’s also the first time they’ve had to go outside of the Third World Press community to ask for help.
Madhubutie said it will now take about $95,000 to replace and repair the building. A GoFundMe has been started to help get Third World Press there.
“We’re a 501(c)(3), so it’s not a business — it’s a charity based upon literature,” he said.
Among the charitable works of Third World Press, any incarcerated man or woman in the country can write Third World, and the publisher will send them three books for free.
Related
Related
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!