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‘People can come in, learn about themselves’: Atlanta native opens bookstore filled with Black History

Rosa Duffy opened For Keeps! bookstore in 2018. It features rare, hard-to-find and classic books by African and African American authors.

ATLANTA — Auburn Avenue is arguably the epicenter of black history in Atlanta.

The sites and the murals tell the story, along with one of Auburn Avenue’s newest businesses.

“I wanted to open a place where things were accessible,” said Rosa Duffy.

“So, this is not only a very important part of the city and a very important place for black folk to live and thrive.  It has been for a very long time.  But it is also a part of me because this is where I grew up,” she explained.

Duffy is the owner of For Keeps! bookstore.  She opened it in 2018.

Her store features rare, hard-to-find and classic books by African and African American authors.

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However, it doesn’t stop there.

“I just received this dawn magazine collection,” she mentioned as she browsed through her collection.

Duffy also collects iconic black magazines and artifacts.

“I went to school for art.  I had been living in New York for about 8 years and I was making a lot of stuff that came from text and books,” she explained.

She started collecting when she was 18.  Her love for black history and books led her to eventually open a space for people to come and sit and read for as long as they want.

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“Growing up my parents were always instilling in me the importance of our history,” Duffy said.

“The fact that people can come in, learn about themselves and then be interested in learning more is what I like what people take away from here,” she stated.

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