When Clara Villarosa opened Denver’s first Black-owned bookstore in 1984, she had no idea what it would later become. She had recently left her position as Vice President of human resources at the United Bank of Denver. Her resignation came shortly after she discovered their intent to fire her, as the highest-ranking African American employee at the bank. She was 54 years old and had no experience in entrepreneurship or bookselling.
She sought out Joyce Meskis—the previous owner of Denver’s renowned indie bookstore, Tattered Cover— for advice on how to start a bookstore. Knowing that she wanted it to focus on African American representation, the name came to Villarosa in her sleep. She dissected the word ‘human’ into ‘hue-man,’ aka, man of color. The Hue-Man Experience Bookstore was born.
Within a few years, the bookstore had garnered a reputation for stocking African American literature, greeting cards, art prints and even a Black Santa Claus. This was a model of business that Villarosa said, “people weren’t doing at that particular time.”
“I discovered how hungry African Americans were to see representation of themselves,” said Villarosa. “I enjoyed seeing the customers because there weren’t that many Black people in Denver. This was my population, and I was trying to find anything that represented them.”
Villarosa, a 90-year-old woman whose sharp mind and liveliness have not been diminished by time, told me the story of how a little boy once came into her bookstore and ran to the back where the children’s books were kept. While Villarosa chatted with his mother, he suddenly came running up to her, shouting, “Mommy, mommy! Look!” He pointed excitedly at the Black boy on the cover of the book. “He looks like me!”
These moments were what made the struggles she faced being a Black female entrepreneur in a predominantly-white city and industry worth persevering. “What I say now is something I wish I had known when I was younger,” she told me. “Challenges make you stronger and the bumps in life are the things that help you grow. And so, that bump in my life—threatening to be fired—I turned that lemon into lemonade.”
During her successful span of leadership at the bookstore, Villarosa mingled with famous Black writers such as Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison. She also hosted the Clintons in Harlem where she relocated the Hue-Man Experience in 2002. Although the beloved store closed in 2012, her legacy did not end there. In addition to opening the Hue-Man Experience, she founded the African American Booksellers Association, a sector of the American Booksellers Association, as well as Villarosa Media, a boutique publishing house that specializes in books written by and about people of color. Additionally, she has written two books and sat on the board of trustees for the University of Denver.
In honor of Black History Month and in an effort to foster diversity in literature, Tattered Cover has partnered up with Villarosa to reinvigorate the Hue-Man Experience. The goal of this partnership is to help the Denver community learn more about underrepresented pieces of literature and artwork, connect with diverse local artists and authors, and guarantee proper representation of people of color.
In the past, Tattered Cover has kept quiet about social movements, such as Black Lives Matter. In June of 2020, they released a controversial statement claiming that in order to foster a free exchange of ideas, they preferred to step back and allow others to stress the importance of such issues. This statement alienated many BIPOC authors and readers who supported Tattered Cover. In response to the backlash, the company released a formal apology and a diversity equity inclusivity action plan in order to ensure an “equitable, inclusive, and responsive” environment. The Hue-Man Experience partnership is one of the many ways in which the company is trying to highlight that message.
“When a school seeks to expand its curriculum to be reflective of a diverse world, the Hue-Man Experience at Tattered Cover can help them select and acquire those titles,” said Kwame Spearman, the current CEO of Tattered Cover, in a press release disclosed by the company. “When a large organization needs resources for staff development and conversations around issues of race, we are their partners.”
To debut the partnership, Villarosa has created a list of recommended books for Black History Month. They include Bernardine Evaristo’s “Girl, Woman, Other” and Trevor Noah’s “Born a Crime” among others that honor Black voices. More information and the full list of recommendations can be accessed through Tattered Cover’s newsletters, which you can sign up for here.
“At this point in my life, reviving the Hue-Man brand wasn’t something I had previously imagined,” Villarosa said in a Tattered Cover press release. “However, in light of recent events, the need for this sort of inclusive curation and focus on diversity in literature is evident. My goal for this partnership with Tattered Cover is to build awareness around important issues while giving a voice to Black authors.” Interested individuals can get involved by checking out Villarosa’s recommendations or visiting the Black History Month section of their local Tattered Cover.
From Vice President at a bank to a successful entrepreneur, Clara Villarosa has led a successful and inspirational life. She resisted the marginalization of her identity in a society that undervalues BIPOC, and she created an uplifting, inclusive legacy that inspires others to do the same. After all, as she says, “A smooth sea makes a poor sailor.”
