Charis Books and More, one of the oldest feminist bookstores in the country, was vandalized with anti-gay graffiti last Thursday* following a "Stride for Pride" event as part of Atlanta’s gay pride week. Other stores in the area were also vandalized, but Charis was spray-painted with explicit homophobic words and vulgar imagery. Volunteers came out to help repaint the store, and called on others to make donations or purchases in order to help the store cover the costs.

Founded in 1974, Charis has served as an important social and cultural space in the Atlanta, carrying a wide variety of literature written by and about feminists, women of color, and LGBTQ people. They’ve also been a space for addressing broader social justice issues faced by the local community, and recently signed on to become a part of Freedom University, which helps give undocumented students access to college-level classes by donating books.

*Post has been corrected. Stride for Pride was on Thursday, not Saturday.