🌅Why I’m Starting a Bookstore 🏠

So in 2025,
I’m Opening a Bookstore… and Here’s Why That Matters

📖 The Story So Far

I launched Sunland News on August 1st of this year. Five days a week might make it feel like it’s been longer—but the idea behind Sunland has been in the making for much longer than that.

Let me take you back.

Four years ago, I moved back home and felt lost. I’ve never been someone who followed the typical “path.” I wanted to create, dream, and build something of my own. But dreaming and reality? Different for a reason.

I started what I called a “video production business.” In truth, I was surviving—learning the hard way how to charge for a service, how to market myself, and how to find clients. It was stressful, but also deeply rewarding. I made videos like:

• What if we shot a story in the mirror (not a mirror, btw)? 🪞

• Or a video paying homage to Black cinema and my favorite films of all time? 🎥

• Or a wild one about a haywire anchorman? 🎬

Those years taught me a lot—some lessons harder than others—but the most important thing I learned was community.

At the time, I didn’t realize why I felt so lost: I was walking alone. I knew the direction I wanted to go, but it wasn’t until I met my closest friends—people I’d create projects with and dream with—that it all made sense. But something was still missing. I hadn’t cracked it yet.

Then this year, I lost my uncle Darin…

❤️ What My Uncle Taught Me

(One of the first newsletters I ever wrote was a tribute to him. Read it here.)

My uncle embodied community. He reminded me of something I was missing: I thought I needed to go wide—to reach as far as I could. But his life showed me the importance of going deep.

So I started Sunland News as an attempt to go deep—to truly understand and share what’s happening right in my own backyard. And it’s one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made.

🏠 But, Why a Bookstore?

Because my role isn’t just to cover the community—it’s to educate, document, and build it.

My uncle was a Barber, DJ, Rapper, Artist, and Father (to more children than just his own). Some of my fondest memories are from his barbershop. That space was more than a business; it was where people gathered, shared stories, debated ideas, and laughed together.

My family has always been knee-deep in the people. And I see it as my responsibility to carry that tradition forward.

That’s what I’m building with the Sunland Bookstore.

It’ll sit right on the corner of 25th Street and Avenue I, in the heart of the city—as my big homie (and neighbor) Stoney calls it. My goal? To create a space where:

• Ideas can breathe 💭

• People can gather 🤝

• Memories can be born 📸

To every single person who reads this newsletter, who’s shared feedback, donated, or even just hit reply—thank you. I can’t say it enough.

This is just the beginning of the beginning. I can’t wait to build something that will last for years—decades—to come. Follow along with the YouTube and Instagram (here) as I document this journey.

One Love,
Ja’Min

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