Black WorldSchoolers just might be one of the most in-demand mobile bookstores in the Midwest.
Created by Natalie Pipkin, Black WorldSchoolers is a one-of-a-kind Black bookstore in a bus. Based in Indianapolis, the store celebrates Black life, heritage and joy, while traveling to partner with local schools, businesses and nonprofit organizations to foster a lifelong love of reading among Black youth.
“Every now and then I get someone who thinks they don’t want a book or doesn’t want to read,” Pipkin said. “I talk to them and ask what they like, and I pick the perfect book for them every time. Being able to take time with the youth and get to know them, and be able to curate books that are just for them … It brings me so much joy.”
Born and raised in Indianapolis, Pipkin grew up in Washington Township Schools before attending North Central High School. She was — and still is — an avid reader, but owning a bookstore was never her dream.
Instead, Pipkin got into the book industry in sort of a roundabout way. Seven years ago, her household decided to start homeschooling, and a family blog entitled Black WorldSchoolers would document their journey.
“World schooling is a form of homeschooling where you use the world to learn or world around you to learn, leaning into the classroom type of thing,” Pipkin said. “But for us, Black WorldSchoolers meant a little more than that… It was more about stepping into your own backyard and arriving. … That my kids can have a learning experience anywhere in the world around them, and that the world is theirs, that they’re free to explore it.”
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The Black WorldSchoolers blog and Instagram page helped Pipkin’s family connect and foster an online homeschooling community. Eventually, other parents started reaching out for advice, resources and guidance, leading Pipkin to create a Black WorldSchoolers website where she provided free Black educational resources — including a 24-hour storytime hotline where kids could call in and listen to Black authors reading their stories all around the country.
“I realized from talking to people, when they came home, they didn’t have the books and the resources, because they’re depending on the school,” Pipkin said. “So, the storytime hotline was one way to say, ‘hey, we don’t have the books, but you can call in and listen to the story by the author.’”
Pipkin’s family started doing book drives once they realized Indianapolis has several youth organizations with after school programs and no books. After donating maybe $5 worth of Black-centered books to an organization catering to teens, Pipkin said the reaction was instant.
“They were overwhelmed,” she said. “They were books they hadn’t seen before, and there are books with names that look like their names, and we set up the shelf for them. We put quotes on there, and … they were so excited.”
That’s when a lightbulb went off.
The lack of representation in books provided by school libraries and other bookstores seemed to be a big part of the problem. It’s not that kids don’t like to read, they just didn’t have access to books that catered to them or their interests, Pipkin said.
“When my kids came home and we started home educating, their love for reading skyrocketed because we curated these same stories in our homes that were by Black authors, Black-centered, all genres,” Pipkin said. “When I saw that happen outside my home with these teenagers, I’m like, ‘Okay, there’s something here.’”
Within five months of running the Black WorldSchoolers website, Pipkin launched the online bookstore in November 2020. In December 2020, she bought the bus. By June 2022, Black WorldSchoolers Mobile Bookstore was officially open for business.
Black WorldSchoolers is “a bookstore on wheels with ice cream truck energy,” Pipkin said. It’s one of Indiana’s first bookstores on wheels and Pipkin personally designed it to be colorful, welcoming and safe for kids to explore new books that represented themselves and their stories.
It’s one-of-a-kind, with speakers on the outside and music playing inside too. There are seats for guests, but all the books are front facing so kids know exactly what to look at and for. Pipkin’s own kids are even in the logo.
“It needed to be an experience,” Pipkin said. “It’s unique because we prioritize Black authors, books for all ages. Our model is unique to be sustainable… So, when you see us, someone rented the bus for community impact.”
Being mobile, Black WorldSchoolers is able to travel all over the city, partnering with local schools, businesses, organizations and even catering private events to provide reading materials to Black youth in the community. Pipkin has even travelled for events in neighboring states, including Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio and as far as Virginia.
In Summer 2024, Black WorldSchoolers partnered with The 100 Black Men of Indianapolis, a youth development organization, to give books away to the youth during their Summer Academy, said Keli Reese, manager of programs for the 100 Black Men.
Reese first learned about Pipkin “as a parent” when she began homeschooling her kids ten years ago. However, after a collaboration with the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Reese said she was able to connect with Black WorldSchoolers for their Summer Academy.
The Summer Academy aims to curb summer learning loss and encourage academic growth even over the summer. The program centers around literacy, math and social studies, Reese said, and the partnership with Black WorldSchoolers in 2024 was “a natural fit,” Reese said.
The work Black WorldSchoolers did through the partnership was “very intentional,” as 225 of their students went through the bookstore, completed an activity and picked out a book, Reese said.
“We are Pre-K through eighth grade, so they had grade specific, grade appropriate or age-appropriate books,” Reese said. “With each new group, there was this fresh excitement, and our kids were excited to go through to choose their book.”
Although the bookstore came about fairly quickly, Pipkin is more than grateful Black WorldSchoolers turned out better than her expectations.
“Everything I dreamed it could be, it is,” Pipkin said.
Whether the bus has been booked for a private event, a festival or partnering with a school or nonprofit, Pipkin said books are part of the deal.
“Wherever we go, books are left behind,” she added. “Everywhere we go, we’re able to make an impact by having those books as part of the package.”
Black WorldSchoolers mobile bookstore is unique for many reasons, but at its heart, the store and the mission is community built, homegrown and Black woman-owned, Pipkin said.
“It’s not a brick and mortar, right? But I own it,” Pipkin said. “It’s mine, and with all that’s going on in the world with books, no one can tell me what to do with it. You either invite me in or go.”
For more information about Black WorldSchoolers, view the online shop or to book the bus for an event, visit blackworldschoolers.com.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe has a bachelor's in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and has previously worked for Indy Maven, The Lantern, and CityScene Media Group. In her free time, Chloe enjoys live theatre, reading, baking and keeping her plants alive.
