ROSELAND — A South Side woman wants to spark a wave of Black-owned businesses in her neighborhood by opening a bookstore early next year in Roseland.
Rose Café, from Roseland native Iesha Malone, is planned for 107th and King Drive once work on the building is complete. Malone, a teacher at Roseland’s Chicago Collegiate Middle School, plans to open in the spring.
Malone’s idea for the bookstore came after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd. Many South Side businesses were damaged as some people looted in the aftermath of Floyd’s slaying.
Malone said she understood how her frustrated neighbors felt, but she didn’t like seeing local businesses destroyed — places her peers said they didn’t feel the need to preserve because they weren’t Black-owned or owned by Roseland residents.
“Because I’m influential in the community, I just asked everybody, ‘Why are y’all tearing up our stuff?’ Their whole…
