William & Mary: Students digitize Black women’s history, one diary at a time. “[Mia] Hunt is one of a dozen W&M students contributing to the Black Women’s Diaries Project (BWDP), a multi‑year effort led by [Professor Jennifer] Putzi to transcribe, annotate and digitally encode the diaries of 19th‑ and early 20th‑century African American women. The project will debut online in October […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/13/william-mary-students-digitize-black-womens-history-one-diary-at-a-time/

What I’m Reading: For the first time, we now know how many Black-owned bookstores exist in the U.S.. “[National Association of Black Bookstores] also launched its National Black-Owned Bookstore Directory, an index of the Black-operated brick-and-mortar stores, mobile shops and online sellers across the country. The report states that there are 306 Black-owned bookstores nationwide, approaching […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/09/what-im-reading-for-the-first-time-we-now-know-how-many-black-owned-bookstores-exist-in-the-u-s/

WUGA: New website documents historic displacement of Black neighborhoods in Downtown Athens . “R-51 displaced nearly 400 households and demolished community structures in the 1960s in Downtown Athens. The displacement disproportionately affected Black families, who made up about 60% of the households.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/05/wuga-new-website-documents-historic-displacement-of-black-neighborhoods-in-downtown-athens/

Black Iowa News: Black Tech town hall examines AI’s impact on Black communities. “Color of Change, a racial justice organization, hosted the national Black Tech Town Hall, AI, Algorithms, and the Cost to Our Future, gathering advocates, legal experts and environmental justice leaders to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping, and at times harming, Black communities.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/04/black-iowa-news-black-tech-town-hall-examines-ais-impact-on-black-communities/

State of Delaware: Diverse Histories Virtual Exhibit Launches, Expanding Delaware’s Story Beyond 1776 . “Delaware 250 has officially launched the Delaware’s Diverse Histories virtual exhibit, an online experience that highlights voices often underrepresented in traditional Revolutionary-era narratives. Long before independence was declared, the land that is now Delaware was home to the […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/01/state-of-delaware-diverse-histories-virtual-exhibit-launches-expanding-delawares-story-beyond-1776/

New-to-me, from Village Preservation Blog: Exploring Black History Through Village Preservation’s Online Resources. “To help make these histories visible and accessible, Village Preservation has created a rich collection of online resources that allow anyone to explore the people, places, and movements that shaped Black life in our communities.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/23/village-preservation-blog-exploring-black-history-through-village-preservations-online-resources/

New-to-me, from High Country News: How community organizers are amplifying Oregon’s Black music history. “The online repository contains over 13,000 items from 180 sources. There’s music, of course — live recordings, out-of-circulation albums, unreleased demos — plus film, newsprint, posters, handbills and oral histories. This massive collection is the backbone of the archive, but it […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/21/high-country-news-how-community-organizers-are-amplifying-oregons-black-music-history/

Library of Congress: Resources for African American History Month: Primary Source Sets. “During the month of February, Teaching with the Library will spotlight different resources that support teaching and learning about the achievements and contributions of African Americans throughout U.S. history. This post highlights several primary source sets that teachers may want to incorporate into […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/19/library-of-congress-resources-for-african-american-history-month-primary-source-sets/

Remembering Jesse Jackson's longtime advocacy for LGBTQ+ equality

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/jesse-jackson-lgbtq-rights-record

Cataloging Black-owned record stores

As part of celebrating Black History Month, here’s a list of known Black-owned record stores in the United States and other places around the globe. The list includes those stores that are either fully or partially Black-owned.

Sadly, as with all variations of brick and mortar record retailers, the advent of streaming, digital downloading, and online retailers like Amazon.com has vastly decreased the number of Black-owned record stores. It was also noteworthy that several stores only recently identified in previously published stories/articles (in the past five years) were discovered to have now closed permanently.

Kudos to these business owners for weathering the economic, social, and technological challenges of owning and operating an independent record store in the 21st Century. Please feel free to forward any additions, corrections, or suggestions to this list.

Peace!

Inside Dorsey’s Record Shop since 1946 in Pittsburgh (Neil & Marcus Dorsey) – Source: post-gazette.com

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Bantu Records: Johannesburg, South Africa

Baoulecore Archive Center (2023): Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivorie

Better Days Records (1998): Louisville, Kentucky

Black Circle Records: Charleston (Summerville), South Carolina

Black Star Vinyl (formerly Halsey & Lewis Records) (2017): Brooklyn, New York

Blessed Love Record Shop: Berlin, Germany

Brittany’s Record Shop (2018): Cleveland, Ohio

Conservatory Vintage & Vinyl (2019): Chicago (Flossmoor), illinois

Crates ATL (2025): Atlanta, Georgia

DBS Sounds (1994): Atlanta (Riverdale), Georgia

Della Soul Records (2021): Grand Rapids, Michigan

DJ’s Record Shop: Jacksonville, Florida

Dorsey’s Record Shop (1946): Pittsburgh (Homewood), Pennsylvania

Fivespace: San Diego, California

Forever Changes Vinyl Lounge (1971): Philadelphia (Phoenixville), Pennsylvania

Freshtopia (2019): Norfolk, Virginia

God’s Time: Accra, Ghana

Good Stuff Records: Houston, Texas

Gotwhatulike: Kansas City, Missouri

Home Rule Records (2018): Washington, D.C.

Jampac Records (1986): Charlotte (Monroe), North Carolina

JB’s Record Lounge (2017): Atlanta, Georgia

Kumanini Vinyls (2017); Busua, Ghana

Maestro Records: London (Peckham), England, U.K.

Memories of Soul: Newark, New Jersey

Moodies Records (1982): Bronx, New York

Moods Music (2000): Atlanta, Georgia

Music Planet (1981): Flint, Michigan

Needle to the Groove (2014): San Jose, California

Offbeat (2014): Jackson, Mississippi

Out of the Past Records (1968): Chicago, Illinois

Peaches Records (1975): New Orleans, Louisiana

PM Sounds (2019): Los Angeles (San Pedro), California

Poo-Bah Records (1971): Los Angeles (Pasadena), California

Pure Vinyl: London, England, U.K.

Recs N Threads: St. Louis, Missouri

Re-Runz Records (2016): Orlando, Florida

Retrofit Records (2011): Tallahassee, Florida

Rockers International Records: Kingston, Jamaica

Serious Sounds (1991): Houston, Texas

SOOK Vintage & Vinyl (2023): Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Soulfolk’s Records & Tapes (2019): Nashville, Tennessee

Stokley’s Records: Valdosta, Georgia

Str33t Records (2021): Los Angeles (Alhambra), California

Supertone Records: Londont (Brixton), England, U.K.

The Jazzhole: Lagos, Nigeria

The Real Vinyl Guru/Stall 570 (1989): Nairobi, Kenya

The Record Track (1990): Chicago, Illinois

Urban Lights Music (1993): Twin Cities, Minnesota

Vinyl and Pages: Baltimore, Maryland

Della Soul Records – Source: Facebook.com

SOURCES:

• https://www.okayplayer.com/10-black-owned-vinyl-record-stores-to-support/683266
• https://www.essence.com/gallery/black-owned-record-stores-to-visit/
• https://www.revolt.tv/article/7-legendary-black-owned-record-shops-in-the-us
• https://shoppeblack.us/black-owned-record-stores/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/vinyl/comments/gwod38/blackowned_record_stores/
• https://www.thefloormag.com/post/4-black-owned-vinyl-stores-you-need-to-visit
• https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/neighborhood-record-stores
• https://www.brooklynvegan.com/18-awesome-black-owned-record-stores/
• https://daily.jstor.org/how-black-owned-record-stores-helped-create-community/
• https://phillyplaindealer.com/2024/11/30/sook-vinyl-vintage-phillys-only-black-owned-record-store/
• https://foreverchangesrecords.com/
• https://variety.com/2021/music/news/common-black-owned-stores-record-store-day-vinyl-1234912022/
• https://variety.com/2021/music/news/common-black-owned-stores-record-store-day-vinyl-1234912022/
• https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=847652931397660&set=a.122331840596443
• https://flintbeat.com/flints-own-music-planet-celebrates-40-years-in-flint/
• https://www.peachesrecordsandtapes.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/1641991359380502/d-js-record-shop/
• https://www.thefamuanonline.com/2022/04/22/retrofit-records-swims-against-the-tide/
• https://thestrategycenter.org/about/bookstore/?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=20735694124&utm_content=158137469714&utm_term=black%20owned%20bookstore%20los%20angeles&utm_medium=678971598711&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20735694124&gbraid=0AAAAAqEaDtHquk8pZIRrs1BbdQHJrfKzM&gclid=CjwKCAiAncvMBhBEEiwA9GU_fkNZUOr2GPfMCNm8dHl5tzvLXNl4y2F5DXwFexL7iv_JYdgqLR268xoCRhcQAvD_BwE
• gemini.google.ai
• https://www.nashvillescene.com/music/features/r-a-p-ferreira-establishes-a-new-outpost-of-soulfolks-records-and-tapes/article_582eaa9c-178a-11ee-b116-132366c67a41.html
• https://www.instagram.com/recsnthreadsstl/
• https://www.visitpittsburgh.com/blog/pittsburgh-record-stores/
• https://www.hfchronicle.com/2021/07/26/present-history-conservatory-and-tradition-black-owned-record-stores/
• https://www.realvinylguru.com/newsletter-page/jimmi-the-story-of-the-african-real-vinyl-guru
• https://www.instagram.com/p/CxC1ZMHo0jd/
• https://kumaninivinyls.wordpress.com/about/
• https://banturecords.co.za/pages/about-us
• https://acloserwalknola.com/places/peaches-records/

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