It’s been a long journey for Liberation Station.

The Black-owned children’s book store in Raleigh closed its downtown location in 2024, a year after it opened, following a barrage of threats aimed at both its owner and the children who would visit.

Now, there’s hope for a new chapter in the story.

On Sunday, the bookstore hosted a community interest meeting in Montague Plaza, where the bookstore is slated to reopen in 2026.

“Today was our first community interest meeting, having the opportunity to engage our community, to show them our vision,” said Victoria Scott-Miller, owner of Liberation Station.

Part of Sunday’s event was to help raise more money for the bookstore. According to Scott-Miller, the bookstore has already raised $30,000.

“We’ve reached $30,000 in 30 days, so we only have $30,000 to go,” Scott-Miller said.

This Liberation Station, Scott-Miller says, will be different, as Sunday’s meeting was to gauge what southeast Raleigh wants from the new space.

Montague Plaza is dedicated to housing Black-owned businesses, and the new location will give Liberation Station 15,000 square feet of possibilities.

“What programs do they enjoy, what type of curation of books would they like?” Scott-Miller said.

Gary Freeman, a Raleigh native with two daughters, said he hopes to bring book reading with other dads to the store.

“I think what she’s doing is amazing,” Freeman said. “Being able to see that happen on a regular basis to build community, specifically with Black fathers in the area, that’s something I’m really excited about in this.”

In July, Scott-Miller said they plan to expand programming to include story times and author workshops with kids. 

Making the bookstore’s planned Juneteenth 2026 opening a reality, however, is going to take time, as the bookstore needs to meet its fundraising goals.

Scott-Miller said she’s looking forward to turning the page and letting her dream sing out once again.

“It’s an encouraging turnaround, especially during such a volatile time that people can see the vision and importance in investing children of color education,” Scott-Miller said.

Scott-Miller told WRAL News she plans to hold another community meeting at the start of 2026.