MEET: Essence of Knowledge

Michelle and Nathaniel Davis opened Essence of Knowledge Urban Bookstore in December of 2011 as a way to help process their grief after the devastating loss of their son. Michelle had been recently laid off from her job with a contractor for the state department and was having difficulty finding a reason to get out of bed in the morning. 

Always an avid reader, Michelle dreamed of owning a bookstore. She was frustrated by the under representation of Black authors in mainstream bookstores.

“I once went into a Barnes and Noble looking for a book by Tracy Brown, a well known urban fiction author,” Michelle said. “I was sent to a Black fiction section of the store. Do you know how big that section was? Only two and a half shelves.” 

Her new store would be a way for her to channel her pain into a passion project that would benefit the community. 

“We are the only store of its kind in the county,” Nathaniel said. “Most of our authors, about 90% of them, are people of color, most of them African Americans. We do have books by Latino, Hispanic and Asian writers.”

In addition to books, Essence of Knowledge carries a carefully curated collection of art, jewelry, scarves, and headwraps. They also sell handmade African masks and mudcloths they get from artisans in Africa. 

Back in 2011, Essence of Knowledge shared space with a beauty salon. They moved to a larger store to expand, but after the beauty salon closed, they went back to the original location and took over the entire building. Now, one side of the shop is dedicated to books, the other to art.

The social climate of the past few years led to a marked increase in business for Essence of Knowledge. It is a favorite of many professors and college students. People come from all over the state to browse their shelves, looking to increase their knowledge and support a small local business at the same time.

The store carries fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, and self-help books, but they are most proud of the children’s section. 

“We’ve got a great arrangement of children’s books. That’s the first thing you see when you come into the store,” Nathaniel said. 

Customers can browse in person or order books over the phone. They ship worldwide and to all institutions, including prisons. The owners also are happy to help with their own personal recommendations. 

The Davis’ look forward to hosting local authors again as soon as they are able. They enjoy helping promote new and varied voices. In the future, they would love to expand to an even larger space somewhere in the neighborhood. They love being a part of Cocoa’s vibrant, growing community. 

Connect

1229 King Street, Cocoa

321-806-4766

Hours: 12-6 Tuesday-Friday; 12-5 Saturday

Instagram: @essenceofknowledge/

Facebook: /cocoaurbanbookstore