Published on July 2, 2025 at 2:11 pm
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Founded by Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, Cafe Resistance on Soutel Drive is a bookstore, coffee shop and community hub that highlights African American authors and banned books. Here’s the story behind this Northwest Jacksonville hotspot.
For over a year, Cafe Resistance Bookstore & Coffee Shop has been an invigorating force of resistance in Northwest Jacksonville. Nixon opened the cafe in 2024 to provide a safe place for children and teens to fall in love with reading while improving literacy rates in the area. This coincided with the height of the state’s offensive against books covering the history of race and racism.
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As a result, some may know Cafe Resistance for platforming banned books and other African American literature, but a year later, the space has become so much more. Cafe Resistance stands as a third space, providing services and programming that directly address the health, education and economic equality failures that have plagued the Northside. The space is best described in Nixon’s own words:
“We are not just a bookstore. We are a community hub that is working to address multifaceted issues…I would like to diminish and eradicate some of the disparities across the board, but we are addressing food insecurity, we’re addressing lower literacy rates, we’re addressing mental health, we’re addressing the lack of health care access by bringing in partners who work in health care… We are a place of community where people can come to just hang out in a fun, safe, family-friendly environment.”
Do you have a place to flourish? Somewhere to grab a healthy meal? A place to relax and feel safe with family? If you do, consider yourself lucky. For a long time, Northwest Jacksonville residents couldn’t say the same. It doesn’t take much research to know that Jacksonville is a city plagued with inequality, where the ZIP code a person lives in can be a key indicator of health risks, access to quality education and household income.
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In a world where knowledge equals power, Cafe Resistance is leveling the playing field that so often leaves low-income communities feeling helpless. When you know better, you do better, and there is no shortage of knowledge being shared.
One of the most powerful ways this happens is through workshops centered on the issues that have undermined progress in the past. Wealth Watchers has regularly hosted workshops on heirs’ property, a legal entanglement that occurs when a homeowner dies without a formally designated heir, creating an unclear title to their home. This highlights the unfortunate reality that can occur if low-income families aren’t taught how to prioritize estate planning when their loved ones are still alive, something even my own family would have benefited from when my great-grandmother passed in April. While she owned the home she built and owed no taxes on the property, it didn’t automatically transfer to her children, despite having a will outlining these wishes. Therefore, we are now in the probate process, costing us thousands of dollars. That is not an expense the average Northwest Jacksonville family can afford.
In many cases, a developer or real estate group either pays homestead and property taxes to the city, or purchases the property under market value from the family. This is why, despite many residents having longstanding roots in the city, most Northwest Jax residents are renters, not homeowners. Workshops like these change that.
Agape Family Health and Empowerment Resources Inc. have also collaborated in the space to provide parenting workshops. At no cost, parents can learn how to build self-worth in their children, manage stress and navigate conflict. Parents have greater access to the tools needed to build stronger families. And the learning doesn’t just stop at life skills. Children receive free guitar lessons. Men learn yoga. Grandmothers learn how to line dance. It may not be all things to all people, but it certainly is many things for many people.
As such, Cafe Resistance has adapted to the changing wants and needs of the community, something Nixon hopes visitors take pride in.
“I tell people this isn’t my bookstore, this is our bookstore. This is the community bookstore,” Nixon says.
When I asked her what she was most proud of after the first year, she shared a story of a young boy who would visit the store every day after school, begging for Takis to be stocked on the shelves. Now, when he comes in, he gets a salad. The exposure to new and healthy alternatives is already changing lives for the better.
This fundamental aspect is what transforms Cafe Resistance from a bookstore into a third space, improving the quality of life for thousands of citizens. A third space is anywhere outside of the home and work where residents are invited to relax, meet new people, and enjoy life. They have limited barriers to access, and all are welcome. These spaces function as “great equalizers” according to Ray Oldenburg, who coined the term in his 1989 book The Great Good Place. “Great equalizers” are places where people from various backgrounds can gather, feel comfortable, and don’t have to spend much money.
While the term is relatively new, spaces of the sort have been recognized pillars of society for centuries. Libraries, pubs, churches and rec centers are all third spaces where people can casually gather and build connections.
Nowadays, third spaces are becoming extinct. Yes, there are public libraries and public parks, but in Jacksonville, they are underfunded, understaffed and under-programmed. This is especially true in Northwest Jacksonville, where the legacy of racist redlining continues. The fight for dignity and respect on the Northwest side is strong, and for a year now, Cafe Resistance has been its home base.
If it’s not clear by now, Cafe Resistance’s success is Jacksonville’s success, and thankfully, they’re just getting started. Cafe Resistance’s programs mean more homeowners boosting Jacksonville’s economy; more students pushing the Duval County literacy rate above 46%; and more informed citizens engaging with the stakeholders that make Jacksonville great. The space is open to everyone, even if you don’t live nearby.
To keep Cafe Resistance thriving, become a monthly sustainer, volunteer as a tutor (they are in high demand), donate to support programming, and share their events online. This not only keeps the programming going, but it also pays fair wages for the teens and young adults who work there. But if you ask Nixon, the best way to support Cafe Resistance is to be part of it. Looking for a place to flourish? The door is open.
Cafe Resistance is at 5007 Soutel Drive | (904) 374-2823 | Instagram | Facebook
