Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – The front of the Outrage store in D.C. sells shirts that say “Nasty Woman,” “November is Coming” and “Families Belong Together.” In January a community space will open in the back of the store’s new 14th Street NW location where activists can organize and also discuss issues like race, sex and gender.
The store’s director of community and branding Michelle Howell said the Outrage opened in 2017 as a pop-up to sell official apparel for the Women’s March. It was only supposed to be around for six weeks, but it was so popular they decided to stay open.
Not only were customers coming in to be “outfitted for the resistance,” Howell said they also used the space to organize. Since people kept coming back for that purpose, they decided to create a formal space for it.
“We’re just gonna have this kind of be an oasis and a brave and safe space for people to have conversations and to come and kind of just take a deep breath from kind of, some of all the like chaos that’s going on in the world,” Howell said.
The members-only space will host weekly events and also give people a place to have informal conversations.
Howell said they’re still working out the details but expect memberships to be $30 and up, but people will not be turned away if they can’t pay that amount.
They decided to go with a membership model, according to Howell, to foster a sense of community. Howell said they don’t want it be a transient space people visit occasionally but rather one where people go regularly and build relationships.
“While a lot of our merchandise might look quote unquote liberal, we’re still a space to have and engage in bipartisan conversations,” Howell said.
Howell added they’re open and welcome to anyone, even those whose political views differ from theirs.
Copyright 2018 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: The Outrage)
