What is the significance of the reading held at Curl Central in the novel, The Other Black Girl?

Curl Central, the hair salon where Hazel's non-profit hosts a reading (and where Manny's sister Juanita works) is the site of one of the more significant events of the novel. The venue is obviously an unsettling one to the white workers at Wagner since it is in a Black neighborhood and is not a conventional place for a literary event; some of them question Hazel's decision-making, while others pretend to be supportive and then decline to attend. It is one of many examples of the authenticity and Black pride that Nella perceives Hazel to possess, and the event is excruciating for Nella in part because she feels she should be proud and supportive of it.