“Prose To The People” Is The Love Letter Black Bookstores Deserve
By Jameelah Nasheed ·Updated March 4, 2025 < /> Black bookstores have long been sanctuaries — nurturing Black thought, incubating ideas and cultivating the next generation of readers, writers and revolutionaries. Katie Mitchell’s forthcoming book, Prose to the People: A Celebration of Black Bookstores, is a visual and literary homage to these sacred spaces. Featuring over fifty bookstores from across the United States, alongside essays, poetry and interviews with Kiese Laymon, Pearl Cleage, W.J. Lofton and more, Prose to the People offers an immersive journey through the history and contemporary significance of Black bookstores.Mitchell, a storyteller and bookseller based in Atlanta, understands firsthand the power of these spaces. She is the founder of Good Books, an online and pop-up bookstore that has garnered national recognition. Her work, paired with her experiences as a Black bookseller, inspired her to write this book. “There’s a gap in the literature about these places that cradle Black people’s history. The history of these foundational institutions hadn’t been told yet. Black churches and Black colleges get a lot of love, but Black bookstores are kind of an unsung institution that’s under-reported. This is the first book-length treatment of Black bookstores. I’m honored to bring that forth, but it’s long overdue.” Today, as book bans disproportionately target Black authors and stories, Black bookstores remain vital. “Black bookstores are carrying these banned books and making them available to people. Even more importantly, they create spaces where we can dialogue and understand these books together,” said Mitchell. The book’s foreword, written by Nikki Giovanni, encapsulates the power of Black bookstores. “Prose to the People reminds us that Black is beautiful, but knowledge is power,” Giovanni wrote. That sentiment runs throughout the book, underscoring the role these spaces have played in every major Black liberation movement — from abolition to Black Power to today’s Movement for Black Lives. As a result, Black bookstores have long been targets of state surveillance. During the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, Black bookstores like Drum & Spear in Washington, D.C. and the booksellers who ran these institutions were closely monitored by the FBI under COINTELPRO. Despite this history of repression, these spaces have continued to thrive, adapting to the times while maintaining their core purpose—educating, empowering, and uniting Black communities. Across the country, Black bookstores continue to serve as vital hubs of knowledge and culture. Prose to the People highlights over fifty of these institutions, showcasing their legacies and ongoing impact. Here are a few of the bookstores featured in the book. Marcus Books (Oakland, CA)As one of the nation’s oldest Black-owned bookstores, Marcus Books has been a cornerstone of Black literary culture since 1960. Founded by Drs. Raye and Julian Richardson, the store has served as a meeting place for acclaimed authors including Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and James Baldwin. It has persisted through gentrification and economic shifts, continuing to serve Oakland’s Black community with a rich selection of books and a commitment to Black thought.“There’s something special and necessary about physically coming together to learn from the experts, dreamers and artists among us.” said Dr. Jasmine Johnson, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and granddaughter of Marcus Books founders. In Prose to the People, Johnson wrote about her grandmother, Raye Richardson. “What’s needed now is a continued investment in physical spaces that are dedicated to growing knowledge and human capacity for nuance,” she said, “and an ongoing commitment to pouring into family owned businesses, brick and mortar shops, and community institutions that have, at their very foundation, an investment in nourishing local communities.”BEM | books & more (Brooklyn, NY)Founded by sisters Gabrielle and Danielle Davenport, BEM | books & more is a space that celebrates food, storytelling, and the cultures of the African diaspora. Focused solely on Black food writing, BEM is a space where food is a gateway to history, identity, community and connection.For Keeps Books (Atlanta, GA)Nestled in Atlanta’s historic Sweet Auburn district, For Keeps, founded by Rosa Duffy, is a bookstore that specializes in rare, classic, and out-of-print books by Black authors. Black thought, culture, and storytelling are celebrated and preserved through shops like For Keeps, which has created space for history and literature to converge.Hakim’s Bookstore (Philadelphia, PA)In the fall of 2023, Hakim’s Bookstore, founded by Dawud Hakim in 1959, received a state historical marker recognizing it as “the first Black-owned bookstore in Philadelphia specializing in Black history and titles by Black authors.” In addition to the texts provided there, Hakim’s became a civil rights and Black activism gathering place. As a result, Dawud Hakim was one of several Black booksellers that were investigated by the FBI in the 1960s and 70s. Though Hakim passed in 1997, his legacy lives on through his daughters and granddaughter, who continue to run the bookstore. In telling the stories of places like Marcus Books and Hakim’s Bookstore, and how they paved the way for shops like BEM and For Keeps, Prose to the People reinforces the idea that Black bookstores aren’t simply retail spaces — they are living institutions, evolving and sustaining Black culture. Mitchell’s book, a combination of essays, poetry, photography and interviews, is an extension of that. “I wanted Prose to be like a bookstore. You have different opinions, different genres, different media. I wanted the book to reflect that multidimensional experience.”At a time when our stories are being challenged, banned and erased, Prose to the People isn’t just a love letter to Black bookstores — it’s a reminder of why they matter now more than ever. These spaces aren’t just about books; they’re about resistance, remembrance and making sure our voices are heard, no matter who tries to silence them. TOPICS: black authors black bookstoresThe post “Prose To The People” Is The Love Letter Black Bookstores Deserve appeared first on Essence.
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