Imagine waiting for months to attend your first booksellers conference with people who run bookstores across the country, all convening to discuss how to operate an amazing bookstore. Yes, it was an amazing experience, but imagine on the day you are ready and expecting to acquire knowledge from these sessions to advance your store, but the most impactful conversation occurs not in a session, but in a hallway.
At the end of the third day of American Booksellers Association (ABA) Winter Institute, I walked down a long hallway to head home and saw Black Bookstore owner of Source Booksellers Mrs. Janet Webster Jones, whom I affectionately called Mama Janet throughout the conference. She is a warm and nurturing mama figure. She and I sat on a bench and talked for nearly an hour. Throughout the conversation, I found myself listening intently as if I was an elementary school-age student waiting to get the next powerful knowledge anecdote to implement in my life and business. When the conversation ended, I headed home, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how she inspired me to articulate the purposes of Black Bookstore.
Last week, the National Association of Black Bookstores, which was founded by Kevin Johnson released the State of Bookstores Report. There are 306 Black bookstores in 14 states across the United States, and 36% operate without a brick-and-mortar location. Of all Indie Bookstores, only 8% are Black-owned. The number may be small, but we are impact is mighty.
Our philosophical foundation is rooted in helping people transform themselves and their world. That’s why our Return on Investment—or ROI—doesn’t work in traditional ways. Instead, we focus on purposeful profit: making a difference. When we host story-times at community events, lead engaging read-alouds in schools, or curate book lists for parents and educators, we measure success by our inspirational impact, not just by profit. This focus on impact shapes what the Black Bookstore means to the community. It serves as a dream-out-loud space.
From my youth, Black Bookstores were communal places where people engaged in dialogue pressing issues impacting Black people, reflected on ideas to eradicate those problems, imagined what the world could become if those ideas were realized, and when the conversations got too serious, people would find time to laugh about the good old days. For parents, walking into a Black Bookstore is like stepping into a time machine—picking up a book can spark memories of their own childhood and inspire them to support their children’s journeys.
Central to this experience is trust. The Black Bookstore is a trust-based institution. When I help parents, caregivers, or relatives select books, I don’t see it as a transaction. The first step in building trust is listening—asking questions to truly understand what book might best serve a child’s dreams and needs.
This dedication to understanding and support is why the Black Bookstore is a place where parents invest in their children’s dreams. When I see the same families at different events, they often share stories about how a book they purchased has inspired their child. One day, I was at an event, and the photographer was a guy who brought a book from me. I said, “You brought the Malcolm Little book” and with a smile he said, “Yes.” Then he proceeded to tell me about how his son loved the other book Lava in My Veins too. These moments of connection turn customers into a community, all built on the foundation of trust.
Beyond trust, the Black Bookstore is also a curator of culturally relevant stories by and about Black people. As a child, my mother took me to Black Bookstores all throughout Philadelphia like Know Self Bookstore, Hakim’s Bookstore, and Basic Black Books. There, I could choose books that featured characters who looked like me—experiences that inspired me to become who I am today. I remember buying a comic titled Brotherman, which was the first timeI remember with a Black male protagonist, who was a superhero. And that made me think I, too, could be a superhero. Now, I strive to create the same opportunities for young readers, stocking our store with books that help them dream big.
Some may wonder: If Black Bookstores focus on books with Black characters or about Black people, how do they serve everyone? The answer is clear. As bookstore owner Yvonne Blake from Hakim’s Bookstore put it, “… we educate and teach people about the history that is so often hidden or not told to—not just African Americans—but to everyone.” Moreover, it’s vital for children of all backgrounds to read books by Black authors to counter negative stereotypes often seen in TV, social media, and movies. Through stories that showcase Black characters in their fullness, young readers can begin to see Black people in all their humanity—making the possibility of true equality more real and attainable.
In the end, Black Bookstores are led by people who see their work as a calling. This work is about serving Black people and humanity as a whole. During the recent American Booksellers Conference in Pittsburgh, I met Black Bookstore owner of Source Booksellers Mrs. Janet Webster Jones, owner of Source Booksellers, a Black bookstore. And she reminded me that we don’t own bookstores for profit—we do it to serve. Whether we sell out or sell some books, our commitment to making the world a better, more beautiful place stays the same.
Dr. Nosakhere Griffin-EL is the co-founder of The Young Dreamers’ Bookstore. He also is a Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project in partnership with the National Black Child Development Institute.