Profile: Burning Books

The unmarked storefront lay just a 10-minute walk southwest of Elmwood Avenue, on the corner of at Connecticut and 15th streets. It’s nestled within a quiet, shabby corner of Buffalo’s West Side, but open its door and its messages ring clear.  

Burning Books, a bookstore and learning space dedicated to radical activism, has been on the scene for about a year and a half, according to Nate Buckley, one of its founders. It offers literature, movies and artwork, as well as clothing and other accessories, on what they classify as "freedom struggle."    

“We were already sort of entrenched (in the activist scene) when we started,” Buckley says from his perch, a small staircase leading to an unseen room of the small bookstore. “We were part of a group named Arissa, which focused on kind of the same thing -- film screenings, discussions, reading groups, things like that.”      

By “we,” Buckley meant himself, Leslie Pickering, and Pickering’s wife, Theresa Baker. All three have deep roots in activism, according to Artvoice; Buckley is active in the Stop the Violence Coalition, along with two other groups focused on prisoners’ rights.

Pickering was a spokesman for the Earth Liberation Front, an organization dedicated to ending environmental destruction, and has written about his experiences. Baker, to whom Pickering is married, is involved with numerous groups which dedicate themselves to talking about politics through art, and hosted a show about social justice called SpeakEasy Radio.

Together, they worked on Burning Books for three years before opening on Sept. 9, 2011, on the 40th anniversary of the uprising at Attica. The store commemorated the date with a screening of the documentary “Attica” on Sept. 8, 2011, as well as having American Indian Movement veteran and Attica participant John Boncore, a.k.a. John Hill, a.k.a. Dacajeweiah, speak at Burning Books on Sept. 13.

“It was incredible,” Buckley said of the experience. “He was probably my favorite speaker we’ve had.”

Fast forward to 2013. Burning Books is an established part of the literary, educational and activist scenes. Community and reading groups of all types use the space for education and discussion about topics including racism, sexism, labor conditions, and homophobia. There are tables full of merchandise -- books, flyers, pamphlets. The wood-paneled walls are covered with everything imaginable -- posters, clothing racks, bookcases, and, over the counter, a giant whiteboard announcing Burning Books’ events throughout the next month.

The bookstore has been featured on multiple Web sites, from GOBike Buffalo to Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative, as well as in Artvoice. These sites laud the store’s contributions to the Buffalo community, but Buckley says their work is far from finished.

“‘Radical’ means getting to the root, so we focus on getting to the root of a problem, not just focusing on the issues that are just symptoms of that problem,” he said. “We focus on actions -- not just thinking about an issue, but acting against it.”

These actions and events include a screening of the film William Kunstler and the American Indian Movement on March 20 at 7 p.m., another screen of a new documentary, Visions of Abolition, on March 28 at 7 p.m., and a discussion called Organizing for Power (focusing on labor conditions and issues) on April 14 at 6 p.m.


Burning Books is open 11 a.m.- 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

All photos by Angelica Rodriguez