FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 7, 2026

Media Contact: Sister's Uptown Bookstore & Cultural Center

212-862-3680 | info@sistersuptownbookstore.com

Sister's Uptown Bookstore & Cultural Center, Harlem's Longest-Standing Black-Owned Bookstore, Announces Inaugural Voices of Harlem Gala

October 24 fundraiser will bring together fine dining, live entertainment, and philanthropy while honoring leaders in Black literature, education, entrepreneurship, and community service

HARLEM, N.Y., August 7, 2026 - Sister's Uptown Bookstore & Cultural Center, Harlem's longest-standing Black-owned bookstore and a cultural anchor since 2000, will host its inaugural Voices of Harlem Gala on Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at The Riverside Church in New York City. The fundraising celebration will help sustain the bookstore's mission and support its literacy, cultural preservation, and community programming.

Hosted by founder Janifer P. Wilson, the gala will celebrate Harlem's literary and cultural legacy. The evening will bring together fine dining, live entertainment, and philanthropy, with dinner catered by Harlem's Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too.

The inaugural gala will recognize four honorees whose work reflects Sister's Uptown's commitment to literature, education, entrepreneurship, cultural preservation, and service to the community.

2026 Honorees

Herb Boyd: community activist, author, and columnist for the Amsterdam News.

Dawn Harris-Martine: Harlem educator and owner of Grandma's Place, Toys & Children's Books. Wade and Cheryl Hudson: founders of Just Us Books and pioneering publishers of Black children's literature.

Yvonne Stennett: executive director of the Community League of the Heights (CLOTH) and longtime community leader.

Event Details

Gala: Voices of Harlem: Celebrating Literature, Culture, and Community

Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026

Time: 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Location: The Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10027

Catering: Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too

Tickets and Tables

Friends of Sisters: $75

General Admission: $150

VIP Admission: $300

Gold Table for 10: $5,000

Platinum Table for 10: $10,000

Tickets and donations: https://givebutter.com/sisters-uptown-bookstore-gala-fundraiser-u3znbj

About Sister's Uptown Bookstore & Cultural Center

Janifer P. Wilson opened Sister's Uptown Bookstore in January 2000 with a commitment to ensuring that children and adults could see Black life, history, and achievement reflected in the books around them. In June 2007, she expanded the institution with Sister's Uptown Cultural Center, creating a family-operated community resource devoted to the exchange of information and ideas.

For more than 25 years, Sister's Uptown has served readers, writers, scholars, artists, families, and neighbors through Black literature, author events, book clubs, poetry, storytelling, music, workshops, and intergenerational programming. Today it stands as Harlem's longest-standing Black-owned bookstore and one of New York City's few independent Black-owned bookstores, continuing its mission to preserve, promote, and celebrate Black literature and culture for future generations.

For more information: www.sistersuptownbookstore.com

*Please be advised that tickets or donations for this campaign/event are not tax-deductible!

Sister's Uptown Bookstore Inaugural Gala