The Hue-Man Experience returns to Denver through Tattered Cover Partnership
Christen Aldridge
Tattered Cover co-owner, Kwame Spearman, and Clara Villarosa, founder of the successful and beloved Hue-Man Experience Bookstore in Denver and the Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe in New York City, are teaming up to foster diversity in literature. “A book is a subtle way to teach inclusion,” Clara Villarosa says. The 91-year-old often tells the tale of a young African-American boy who visited her bookstore and could not contain his excitement when he screamed out to his mom “the kid on the book cover looks like me!” Villarosa shares, “When you see yourself in a book, you start to think that you matter.”
If you grew up in New York City or Denver from 1984 to 2010, you are familiar with the Hue-Man Experience bookstore. The Black-owned bookstore was a pillar of the Denver community for 16 years before Villarosa sold it and moved to New York City in 2000 and continued the Hue-Man Experience in Harlem until 2010. At the time of the Hue-Man Experience’s existence in Colorado, it was Denver's first and only Black-owned bookstore. Authors such as Maya Angelou and Terry McMillian graced the floors of the Hue-Man bookstore.
Kwame Spearman grew up going to the bookstore, especially for the purpose of buying Black Santa Christmas cards to mail to his friends and family. Kwame Spearman recalls reminiscing about Hue-Man with his mother while looking at memorabilia one Christmas Eve. “We had everything from a Hue-Man bookmark, an African cloth that draped our couch and many books.” Reminiscing on his time at the Hue-Man Experience bookstore, made him want to connect with Clara Villarosa. “I googled Clara Villarosa and found her daughters on Linkedin and asked to [be] connect[ed] with her”. After he connected with Clara on Zoom, he was touched by her charismatic spirit and felt compelled to create a partnership. “She is well-respected in Denver and the publishing industry. It just made sense to do a partnership”. Villarosa will serve as a curatorial expert for Tattered Cover as well as other educational institutions, corporations and nonprofits, providing thoughtful guidance on book selections that encourage diversity, equity and inclusion.
Villarosa has always had an affinity for the Tattered Cover. The founder, Joyce Meski, was her mentor when she was in the beginning stages of starting the Hue-Man Experience bookstore. “I didn't know where to start as a bookseller and she graciously took me under her wing”. This mentorship connected her to the American Booksellers Association, which she and Meskis later served as board members. Villarosa is also the founder of the African American Bookseller Association, a specialized division of the American Bookseller Association.
In 1984, Villarosa opened Denver’s first Black-owned bookstore in Five Points. The bookstore specialized in books and non-book gifts for African-Americans. It was common for the Hue-Man Bookstore to host readings by well-known Black authors. For 16 years, the Hue-Man bookstore was the go-to bookstore for Black literature in Denver but after both of Villarosa’s daughters moved to New York City and began to create families, Villarosa’s chapter in Denver came to an end. She moved to New York City with her daughters and continued the Hue-Man Experience legacy in Harlem. The late, great Maya Angelou read at her Harlem opening. Villarosa forged friendships in high places with well-known African-American icons such as Angelou and Cicely Tyson.
“At this point in my life, reviving the Hue-Man brand wasn’t something I had previously imagined. However, in light of recent events, the need for this sort of inclusive curation and focus on diversity in literature is as evident as ever. My goal for this partnership with Tattered Cover is to build awareness around important issues, while giving a voice to Black authors,” Villarosa explained.
Kwame’s goal is to create impactful change and he believes with the help of Villarosa that goal will be achieved. “We want to develop a center of excellence, [a repository] of Black content, Black writers and Black titles, because that doesn't exist right now. We can be a big resource here, identifying authors who were never given their due or [those] who are coming up and deserve their due--this realization was the birth of the Hue-Man Experience.” Kwame jokes that “Clara can be our Oprah with this partnership. Every month Clara picks a set of authors, titles and content, some new, some old, and explains why these pieces are relevant to understanding the Black experience. We will establish a repository so that we will always be able to identify, recommend, and supply these books to the community.”
Kwame’s dream is that, as a result of this partnership with Clara Villarosa and the Hue-Man and Tattered Cover experience will transcend out of the bookstore into the community. It will be known, not as the only place to get the needed resources concerning Black literature, but as the mecca for these resources.
You can view the Hue-Man recommendations online at www.tatteredcover.com/hue-man-experience-book-recommendations