Zora's Place, a Black-owned feminist bookstore in Evanston, is 'a love letter to the community'

Zora's Place, a Black-owned feminist bookstore in Evanston, is 'a love letter to the community'

The idea for an independent bookstore had been brewing for six years, but it had been a dream deferred for L’Oreal Thompson Payton until this past June, when the vision instantly materialized as the barn-style doors slid open at 2223 Washington St.As Payton surveyed the 700-square-foot empty retail space, she pictured bookshelves featuring Black women authors and a children’s corner with activities and books where Black and brown kids could see …