BY MARK PARKER, Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG — When a Verizon representative approached Lorielle J. Hollaway about being part of a spotlight on small businesses surviving the pandemic, she never thought it would lead to meeting a Super Bowl champion and being featured on Good Morning America.
Hollaway, 30, owns Cultured Books on 22nd Street South in St. Petersburg. She credits an anthropology professor for encouraging her to get inside of the cultures that she wanted to study. At the same time, the number of high-profile police killings of unarmed African Americans led her to seek an understanding of why people perceive others as a threat instead of just another human.
“Cultured Books came from self-discovery, and what I wanted to do and how I wanted to make an impact on the world,” Hollaway said. “I realized that the media plays a big part on how we view each other. I wanted to change how children grow up to see not only Black people but people everywhere. So they can see themselves and others in a positive light, and hopefully, broaden their worldview.”
