The Free Black Women’s Library began as 100 books in a suitcase back in 2015, on the steps of a brownstone in Brooklyn, New York.

Artist Olaronke Akinmowo brought the books by Black women authors in a suitcase to stoops, inviting community members to trade a book by a Black woman author for one of hers.

As her 100 books quickly became 1,000 — including comic books, zines, journals and more — she began hosting the library in pop-ups across the city. It was a place where people of all genders, ages, races and abilities could trade books, talk about what they were reading, and even attend author talks, performances and workshops.