Wilmette bookstore going ‘louder and prouder’ after Pride display ‘harassment’

Wilmette’s new bookstore Pink Couch Books endured at least two incidents of harassment this week for its storefront window’s Pride, said store owner Lora Amigo.

Amigo is responding by encouraging the community to visit the shop, 1161 Wilmette Ave., in support of Pride, especially at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, for a special Pride celebration.

In a Pink Couch Books Instagram post, Amigo wrote that her store had been “targeted” and “I am calling on all of you to help me send a clear message that in this town we do not tolerate hate speech and that EVERYONE BELONGS IN WILMETTE (emphasis hers). Let’s get louder and prouder!”

June is Pride month, and to celebrate, Pink Couch Books has featured a Pride progress flag in its front window, as well as a series of LGBTQ+ books, all month long.

A romance-genre shop that opened on May 31, Pink Couch does not attract many male customers, Amigo said; so she was wary on Tuesday, June 24, when a man entered the store, circled the space and then lingered outside the storefront.

He reportedly re-entered when other customers left, and just store employees, including a teenage intern, remained. Amigo said the man’s “whole demeanor” shifted as he asked if Amigo thought it was “a good idea to have such a display of support,” sternly gesturing toward the store’s window.

After a brief but emotional encounter, Amigo believed the confrontation was a one-off.

“That day I was like ‘Oh, you know, isolated incident,’” she said. “‘It’s bound to happen at some point, sadly, because of the world we live in.’”

But around the same time the following day, Wednesday, June 25, a woman entered Pink Couch Books, looped the store and confronted Amigo about LGBTQ+ rights. At this time, young customers were in the store as well as Amigo’s son, who is transgender, Amigo said.

Amigo said that the woman questioned her and her store’s support for the LGBTQ+ community when Amigo asked her to leave. The woman reportedly would not for several minutes and until another adult customer stepped in to support Amigo.

“I’m not surprised, and I’m wholly prepared to keep kicking people out of my store,” Amigo said.

She said she wants Saturday’s event in front of her shop — where she plans to have music, bubbles and sign making — to show that hate does not have a home in Wilmette.

In a social media post on Thursday, Amigo also encouraged community members to take a picture with the store’s Pride display, post it on social media with #everyonebelongsinwilmette and tag @pink.couch.books. She said she has already seen people engage with her post and come out to show their support.

“Marginalized voices don’t get as much air time and as much shelf time (as) other voices,” Amigo said. “So it is really, really important to show that their voices, their lives, their loves, their everything matters.”

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