PanethosFifteen Black-owned bookstores of the Civil Rights Era
Listed below are 15 vitally important Black-owned bookstores of the Civil Rights Era in the United States. Given how few cities were home for Black-owned bookstores at the time, many of these locations served a vital role as both a meeting/gathering place, as well as a site for distribution of information relating to the Civil Rights movement and Black pride and power. The others played an important role as a vanguard of successful Black-owned businesses in the community.
Sadly, only four of these iconic locations remain in operation today. The others closed for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was ongoing surveillance and harassment by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI.
The bookstores are listed in order by the year they first opened. Peace!
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National Memorial African Bookstore (1932-1974) – New York City (Harlem), New York – founded by Lewis H. Michaux
Source: Facebook.com——-
Marshall’s Music & Bookstore (1938-present) – Jackson, Mississippi – founded by Pastor Louis Wilcher and is the nation’s oldest continuously operating Black-owned bookstore
Source: instagram.com——-
Aquarian Bookstore (1941-1992) – Los Angeles, California – founded by Alfred and Bernice Ligon (pictured below)
Source: instagram.com——-
Hakim’s Bookstore (1959-present) – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – founded by Dawud Hakim and is the oldest Black-owned bookstore on the East Coast
Source: hiddencityphila.org——-
Marcus Books (1960-present) – Oakland, California (1976-present) and formerly in San Francisco (1960-2014) – founded by Julian and Raye Richardson and has been San Francisco Designated Landmark since 2014
Source: eastbaymag.com——-
Afro Asian Book Shop (1964-1975) – Buffalo, New York – founded by Martin Sostre
Source: gclibrary.commons.gc.cuny.edu——-
Ellis’ Bookstore (1967-1985) – Chicago (Woodlawn), Illinois – founded by Curtis Ellis (pictured below)
Source: Facebook.com——-
Liberation Bookstore (1967-2007) – New York City (Harlem), New York
Source: harlemworldmagazine.com——-
The Hub Bookstore (1965-1975) – Kansas City, Missouri – co-founded by Chester & Lillie Owens and James & Dorothy McField
Source: kcur.org——-
Vaughn’s Bookstore (1965-1979) – Detroit, Michigan – founded by Edward Vaughn and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2023
Former Vaughn’s Bookstore location in Detroit – Source: en.wikipedia.org——-
Sundiata Bookstore (1968-1976) – Denver, Colorado – founded by Wanda Jackson
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Drum and Spear Bookstore (1968-present) – Washington, D.C. – the first endeavor of the Afro-American Resources, Inc. founded by SNCC organizers Charlie Cobb, Courtland Cox, Charlie Cobb, Judy Richardson, and Curtis Hayes (later Muhammed)
Source: zinnedproject.org——-
Liberation Books (ca. 1970-1976) – Baltimore, Maryland – founded by Walter Lively
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Uhuru Bookstore (1972-1983) – Greensboro, North Carolina – co-founded by Lewis Brandon
Source: aaihs.org——-
Afro N Books & Things (1978-2009) – Miami (Liberty City), Florida – founded by Earl Wells (pictured below)
Source: instagram.comSOURCES:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaughn%27s_Book_Store
- https://www.aaihs.org/black-owned-bookstores-anchors-of-the-black-power-movement/
- https://crossculturalsolidarity.com/the-history-legacy-of-black-bookstores/
- https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2211&dat=19741214&id=yyomAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YP4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5135,2263700&hl=en
- gemini.google.ai
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/forgottenchicago/posts/10162785500454520/
- https://emke.uwm.edu/entry/literary-milwaukee/
- https://timeforanawakening.com/2020/02/the-political-resilience-of-the-black-owned-bookstore/
- https://www.academia.edu/12441625/Storefront_revolutionary_Martin_Sostre_s_Afro_Asian_Bookshop_black_liberation_culture_and_the_New_Left_1964_75#:~:text=AI,and%20African%2DAmerican%20cultural%20identity.
- https://www.denverpost.com/2010/10/31/denver-civil-rights-leader-wanda-jackson-dies-at-83/
- https://www.kcur.org/community/2019-10-29/in-the-1960s-this-bookstore-was-the-place-for-black-culture-in-kansas-city-kansas
- https://www.wlbt.com/2023/02/15/farish-street-business-marshalls-book-store-one-oldest-african-american-owned-country/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Books
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_H._Michaux
- https://www.facebook.com/streamworkspdx/posts/the-national-memorial-african-bookstorethe-national-memorial-african-bookstore-w/989882349812842/
- https://www.visitjackson.com/directory/marshalls-music-and-book-store/
- https://hiddencityphila.org/2023/04/honoring-hakims-a-west-philadelphia-landmark/
- https://www.instagram.com/p/C8wxLSXMKau/
- https://gclibrary.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2023/10/03/sostre/
- https://harlemlive.org/community/bidness/liberationbookstore/index.html
- https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/liberation-bookstore-owner-harlem-una-mulzac-passes/
- https://www.denverpost.com/2010/10/31/denver-civil-rights-leader-wanda-jackson-dies-at-83/
- https://www.instagram.com/p/C0UDDnfrf9O/?img_index=4
- https://www.aaihs.org/black-bookstores-and-the-black-power-movement-an-interview-with-paul-coates/#:~:text=Coates:%20The%20earliest%20Black%20bookstore,and%20for%20people%20to%20engage.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Lively#:~:text=In%20the%20late%201960s%2C%20Lively,stores%20to%20honor%20King’s%20death.
- https://dcr.lib.unc.edu/record/2b6cead5-3d07-40a2-a3af-adb2ad0561cf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Vaughn
- https://www.hakimsbookstore.com/about-us
- https://www.laacollective.org/work/the-aquarian-age-alfred-and-bernice-ligon
- https://mississippitoday.org/2022/08/25/marshalls-music-and-bookstore/
#AfricanAmerican #BlackOwned #books #bookstores #cities #CivilRightsEra #geography #history #landUse
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