Co-Owner,
Prosperity Bookstore
Jerome Fordham has prepared a feast for the mind at Prosperity Bookstore in Philadelphia. A gregarious man who rolls words off his tongue with a rhythmic cadence that broadcasts his unmistakable love for his community, Fordham started his bookstore to feed the minds of his malnourished community.
“I saw the need for our young folks [to have adequate reading opportunities]. I walked the streets of Philadelphia and traveled around the country [and found] that our African American [people] didn’t seem to have enough reading material,” he says. But when you walk through Fordham’s bookstore, one will find a plentitude of information and more. “They’ll see peace, prosperity, happiness, hope, inspiration, motivation, aspiration. That’s what the bookstore is all about. It’s the word, to read. If you don’t read, you don’t know. If you don’t know, you can’t go. So that’s the idea of our bookstore.”
Having traversed the country frequently while learning the business, Fordham also discovered how he was going to serve young people. “They don’t seem to have an opportunity to do more reading. Our plan is open the store to give the kids . inspirational books to help them grow and mature,” he says. –terry shropshire
Contact Prosperity Bookstore at 2059 Snyder Ave. in Philadelphia, or (215) 755-1225.
