Black Bookstores: Radical Hubs of Resistance and Community
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Resources & Recommendations
Books
- "Black Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore" by Char Adams - This book chronicles the history of Black-owned bookstores in America, from David Ruggles's shop to those that opened during the Black Lives Matter uprisings in 2020.
People Mentioned
- David Ruggles - An abolitionist and the first known Black man to own and operate a bookstore in New York City in 1834. He was also a leader of the Underground Railroad and helped free Frederick Douglass.
- Lewis Michaux - A passionate Black nationalist bookseller who opened a prominent store in Harlem in the 1930s. His shop became a hub for Black nationalism and was known as Speakers' Corner, where figures like Malcolm X would give speeches.
- Malcolm X - A prominent figure in the Nation of Islam and human rights activist, who gave speeches at Lewis Michaux's bookstore.
- J. Edgar Hoover - The FBI director who, in 1968, turned his attention to Black-owned bookstores as part of the COINTELPRO operation, believing they were fronts for Black radical groups.
- Mao Zedong - Chinese communist revolutionary, whose "Little Red Book" was among the titles sold by activist-run Black bookstores.
- Terry McMillan - A Black woman fiction writer whose emergence contributed to a resurgence in Black-owned bookstores in the 1990s.
- Connie Briscoe - A Black woman fiction writer whose emergence contributed to a resurgence in Black-owned bookstores in the 1990s.
- George Floyd - His murder in 2020 sparked a racial reckoning and a new interest in books about race and by Black authors, leading to a bittersweet boom in sales for Black-owned bookstores.
Organizations & Institutions
- Vigilance Committee in New York - Co-founded by David Ruggles, this committee helped free at least 300 enslaved people.
- FBI's COINTELPRO operation - A counter-intelligence program launched by the FBI that targeted Black-owned bookstores, surveilling and infiltrating them under the belief they were fronts for Black radical groups.
- Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) - A civil rights organization whose former organizers started the Drum & Spear bookstore in Washington D.C.
Websites & Online Resources
- Liberties (libertiesjournal.com) - A journal that offers human, reflective, and original essays on justice, freedom, and identity, providing insights that machines cannot replicate.
Other Resources
- "The Mirror of Liberty" - The first Black-owned magazine, printed by David Ruggles out of his bookstore.