Black-led nonprofit and media outlet The Kansas City Defender continues efforts to turn long-standing Willa’s Books & Vinyl into a local public archive.
Over the last year, volunteers of The Defender have nearly completed inventory of 84-year-old Willa Robinson’s book collection. Nina Kerrs, a Mutual Aid leader at The Defender, stated that an appraiser will visit this Wednesday to assess the collection’s value.
“We were wanting to do it right and slowly and not be too hasty,” Kerrs said.
In tandem with launching the public archive, they also plan to make the space accessible for their mutual aid programs. As they secure funds for future renovations, The Defender has since utilized the space for their B-REAL Academy, as well as mutual aid meetings.
Willa Robinson began selling her books over 18th & Vine before opening the first Willa’s Books & Vinyl storefront in 2007. Her collection amassed over 20,000 Black-authored works, including first-edition Frederick Douglass volumes and a rare children’s book by bell hooks that Kerrs “didn’t even know existed.”
Physical and financial upkeep took a toll on Robinson, as she considered closing her doors.
“It was, I think, a really big time of uncertainty for her,” Kerrs said. “I do remember having conversations with her about feeling like maybe our young community … hasn’t been really supporting our elders the way they should have been, or she expected.”
In 2024, The Kansas City Defender stepped in to preserve Robinson’s living archive for the public. Kerrs launched Willa’s Campaign with co-campaign director Lauren Winston and photographer Jade Williams. Together, they organized over 40 volunteers to catalogue Willa’s collection, including two UMKC volunteers.
To The Defender, this public archive is a need for future generations. Ryan Sorrell, executive editor of The Defender, said that they inherited the collection due to the rising censorship of Black education and knowledge.
“That can have drastic implications on younger people, and the kind of knowledge that younger people have access to,” Sorrell said. “For future generations to have access to these physical books … it’s absolutely essential to the continuity of knowledge and Black knowledge.”
This past year, Kerrs noticed growing interest and momentum for Willa’s Campaign.
Lana Peregrina, a second-year sociology student at UMKC, said she lived about 10 minutes from Willa’s Books & Vinyl and visited before her store closed.
“It housed media you truly couldn’t find in any of the other local book and music stores,” Peregrina said.
Peregrina added, “Kansas City has a history of black displacement and erasure. Our city is foundationally and systemically racist. Black writing, art, music … deserve a place to exist without risk of being destroyed or overlooked.”
Alexandria Jersett, a UMKC graduate student, supports The Defender’s initiative.
“It is amazing what can get lost to time if we don’t have people who are dedicated and willing to preserve history,” Jersett said. “Especially as things feel like they are speeding up technologically.”
While an official date has yet to be announced, The Kansas City Defender is actively seeking sponsors to support Willa’s Campaign. Kerrs mentioned she “absolutely would love to work with UMKC” in the future.
Kerrs also plans to host a grand reopening of Willa’s Books & Vinyl and hopes that “Willa Robinson herself” makes an appearance.
Kerrs said, “To see her face the whole time, being celebrated the way she is and given her flowers in real time, to someone who is literally a core elder in our community, who is one of the reasons we are able to fight for what we do now.
“We got a lot of support really fast, and that makes me feel really, really excited for the future of our community in Kansas City.”
Ben Springer contributed to this story.
