Sisterspace Books, a black-owned bookstore that tried to create a center of African American culture on U Street was evicted from their building this morning, effectively ending the owner’s long-standing dispute with their landlord.

The Post reports that the eviction occured this morning when U.S. marshals moved out the contents of the store from their storefront location at 1515 U St. NW. More from the Post’s coverage:

” … Today, after the storefront was emptied, and the logos scraped from the plate glass windows, Williams and Burton clasped hands in a circle with about two dozen supporters and staged an impromptu vigil on the sidewalk and steps.

“We are not going to bow down. We’re going to stand up and be strong,” Williams said. “We had to stand up, for U Street, and for people who look like us around this city.”

Then she and the others began loading books and other belongings into vans and trucks that had been offered from around the neighborhood. The items would be stored at a nearby apartment complex, and at Lee’s Flower Shop, a black-owned business that has been operating on U Street for more than half a century. … “