Charis+Books

Charis Books Will Not Comply With New Georgia Immigration Law
Atlanta's [|Charis Books & More] was the first business in the state of Georgia to declare itself a [|Buy Spot and Sanctuary Zone] as an act of protest against Gov. Nathan Deal's recent signing of a controversial immigration bill. Sanctuary Zone businesses will hang flyers in their window, act as a safe haven for those with nowhere else to go, support organizers working to overturn the law, and encourage customers to boycott businesses that do not offer sanctuary.

//WiL// wrote about Charis in a March 2011 article on feminist bookstores. The independent bookstore is one of only 13 remaining in the U.S. and Canada.

"We want people to know that Charis is a safe haven for all folks and that we do not agree with HB 87," Charis co-owner Angela Gabriel told the //GA Voice//. Anderson explained that as a Buy Spot and Sanctuary Zone, Charis will offer a safe haven to people who need a place to go, will make their space available for organizers who are working to overturn the law, and urge their customers to not shop at stores that are not BuySpot and Sanctuary Zones.

The new law requires Georgia employers with more than 10 employees to use the federal E-verify system to determine if employees are in the country legally, and also authorizes law enforcement to ask for proof of citizenship when they find a situation warrants it. The law has been dubbed by some opponents as the "Show me your papers" law. Buy Spots and Sanctuary Zones are being organized by Somos Georgia, a "movement of Georgians committed to immigrant, racial and economic justice," along with the LGBTQ activist group Southerners on New Ground (SONG) and the National Day Laborers Organizing Network (NDLONG). SONG and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force joined other human rights and labor organizations in calling for a national boycott of Georgia if Deal signed the bill into law.

Atlanta's [|Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse], an independent bookstore that serves the LGBTQ community, has also signed on as a Buy Spot and Sanctuary Zone.