Gabrielle Davenport is an Oakland-raised, Brooklyn-based bookseller and curator whose work centers on forging community through music and food. In January 2021, she and her sister launched BEM | books & more, the bookstore for Black food literature. Since then, they have built a platform for and with readers, chefs, artists, and writers across the diaspora and are preparing to open their permanent brick and mortar home in Bed-Stuy. BEM has been featured in Bon Appétit, Essence, Eater, Cherry Bombe, and The Guardian, among others.

After graduating from Barnard with a degree in Africana studies, Gabrielle programmed music, dance, and performance across New York as well as public institutions across the country. She worked on The Mile-Long Opera, bringing 1,000 opera singers to the High Line, produced projects with Carrie Mae Weems and Angélique Kidjo, and was on the curatorial team at the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival for several years. Gabrielle is also a member of the Brooklyn Book Festival Nonfiction Committee and was named to Cherry Bombe’s Future of Food 50 List.