Capital Books in downtown Sacramento, CA is a small neighborhood bookstore right at the center of the city. Two blocks from the Capitol, near City Hall, right on the pathway for all of the protests that happen. So we've seen it all in the last three years, from Covid to the summer of George Floyd protests, to the Proud Boys fighting with Antifa on our block. We had a mass shooting last year right on our doorstep. But we open up every day to provide a safe and comfortable place for our neighbors and community to come to.

We lean left, as many bookstores do. We feel that children should be able to find a book that expresses their life, their family situation, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, religion, etc. So we stock a variety of kids' books, from the expected classics to current selections, this month (February) had an emphasis on Black History Month.

So this month we got a two-star review complaining about our "woke leftist ideologue literature" in the children's area. But they did give us props for having a small chair and beanbags, so that's probably why it wasn't one star.

We consider ourselves a safe place for everyone. While we may be leftists, we have plenty of conservative customers that meet us in the middle over our History and Sci-Fi sections; most of the store is just a general bookstore without any politics involved. We've hosted events with Democrats like Congressman Adam Schiff and Republicans like Tim Miller.

Negative reviews are just part of the cost of being a "liberal' bookstore. We've been graffitied, windows broken, yelled at, and threatened by those who think they can demand we change what we carry and how we conduct business.

So this t-shirt is for them. Everyone that thinks a bookstore can be scared, shamed, or bullied into changing their selection of books. If you give us a one or two-star review because you don't like our politics, we'll turn it into a shirt. And wear them in the store proudly.

So buying this shirt helps us keep on our mission of being THAT store in town. The one that gives out water to the protestors when it gets to be hot (Sacramento hot). That donates to school and charity silent auctions, and books for the local jail. That brings in authors to speak and read to the community. That is a safe place for everyone, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, or sexuality. Buy a shirt, shop with us online, or come visit us in person.