Milwaukee County recognizes La Revo Books for its community work
The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors on Thursday recognized a Latina-owned bookstore for the work it is doing in the community.
South side sisters Valeria and Barbara Cerda created La Revo Books in 2021. The online and pop-up bookstore offers new and used books written by and for Black, indigenous and people of color, with a focus on Latino literature.
They received a citation from Dist. 12 supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez. The document, which they plan to hang in their mother's house, recognizes the work they have been doing in the community.
After not finding books that reflected their Mexican-American identities, the Cerda sisters took it upon themselves to curate books that center diverse voices. Since then, they have vended at numerous markets, created workshops and invited authors for book signings in Milwaukee.
The sisters started the La Revo Books after the deaths of their two grandmothers. The siblings looked up to them as revolutionary thinkers who broke through barriers, despite not having access to literature.
"This affirms the work that we've been doing," Valeria Cerda said. "We're in a moment where people are recognizing the gap and in knowledge, especially with book bans happening across the country and in our own state.
"People are recognizing the power of our story. Being recognized by the county kind of affirms that we're on the right path."
Barbara Cerda received the citation with her two daughters Thursday morning.
"I think it's very important that we recognize heroes in our community," Martinez said. "When I say heroes, I mean people like Barbara and Valeria.
"People that do the work that other groups don't do. Something like literacy for kids of color, and making sure that those kids of color see themselves in the books that they sell and that they provide is very important.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: La Revo Books recognized by Milwaukee County for its community work
