By Bro. Rod Carter
Director of Publicity
Brother Jeremy Bolden has always had a passion for reading. So, it only made sense that one day he would open his own bookstore. The Little Rock Arkansas resident has a background in online marketing and social media management. He wanted to find a way to combine his love of African American literature and his livelihood... so he founded Culture Bound Bookstore, an online bookstore that specializes in African American non-fiction books.
“I always had a passion for reading,” Bolden said. It began when he was 18 years old. That’s when Bolden took an African American history class and read The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson. He knew then Black literature was in his blood. When he looked for books, he always looked to buy them from a black-owned business. That planted the seed to start his own store.
Bolden, who joined our ‘wondrous band’ through the Lambda Eta Chapter at Arkansas State University in the Fall of 2009, has found a great deal of success since starting the online bookstore. After an initial start in 2017 failed, he tried again during the pandemic. When the word spread, he found success. But even then, it has not been easy.
“It’s been challenging. One of the main issues, when you promote books, you tend to get some pushback from people,” he said. But he doesn’t let it stop him. He continues to push reading, through the store and the book club he organized before opening the store.
Bolden knows his love for fraternity is what helped propel him... leaning on one of the pillars of our fraternity, Bigger and Better Business.
“From the time I became a member, it was business and brotherhood,” Bolden said. Phi Beta Sigma he says, has been a great influence on his life. And so, he will keep his business going, pushing books and bis book club, until he says, “my number is called.”
