Black owned bookstore Tag

Black Owned Bookstores

Peeeeace, props to all the folks hitting the streets these past few weeks and this weekend. If you’re not familiar with the Movement for Black Lives check out their website and see the demands. This moment of righteous rage against police brutality which is a tactic of a much larger system/ state) is not about just marching, there are concrete demands. Take “Economic Justice” for one. The odds have been stacked against Black owned businesses for a long time and I’m excited to see people circulating a list of Black owned restaurants, musicians, artists, organizations, and bookstores people can donate to. And people have been doing it. 
I donated to my local Oakland store “Marcus Books”. I sell my book there, and I order new books through them. If you are not hitting the streets because of Covid or you want a different tactic here are five reasons to support black owned bookstores today.
5 REASONS
1. They carry knowledge in the form of books and stories other stores do not.
2. They give new upcoming Black authors and scholars a path to a career in literary arts and storytelling.
3. They serve as archivists of Black history, achievements, movements, and accomplishments.
4. They serve as vital homes for more than books for musicians, organizers, students, self publishing authors, book clubs, and families.
5. They are anchors that help other Black owned businesses thrive too.
So I put AALBC-The African American Literary Book Club up first because they have been keeping a list of Black owned bookstores up for over a decade. And there are over 125 stores on the list. Connect with your local store and support them by buying books there or donating to them.
Second, I want to give some props to Noname from Chicago for starting a book club that recognizes and champions Black owned bookstores as well. Here is their partial list. Follow Noname’s Book Club for more.  Please do not purchase books from Amazon! Support an actual small Black owned business rather than a mega corporation.
I’d like to add that if you’re in the Bay Area there is a 2nd Black owned bookstore that specializes in children’s literature. Its in Richmond California and is called the “Multicultural Children’s Bookstore”.

10 Ways to support Black Owned Businesses

Via Morgan DeBaun:
10 WAYS TO SUPPORT A BLACK SMALL BUSINESS. Why? Let me give you some stats and outline how COVID-19 will impact minority business owners:⠀

💰Historically large banks only approve about 60% of loans from white small businesses owners, 50% for Hispanics and 29% of loans sought by Black small business owners. ⠀

💰there are 2.6M black owned businesses and 2.5M have no employees. Many are solopreneurs with not a lot of cushion. ⠀

💰COVID-19 loans prioritize small businesses with employees. Or businesses with pre-existing relationships with banks. That literally takes out 80%+ of black small biz owners. ⠀

💰 The median white family has 10x the amount of wealth as the median Black family. We have less savings to lean on collectively.⠀

I challenge each of you reading this to pick 1 thing today you can do to support a small black business. Comment below on your commitment. hashtagsmallbusiness hashtagsupportblackbiz

Marcus Books in Oakland

Check out Marcus Books in Oakland if you have not already. If you have, please go back there and support again. You can not only find history, psychology, memoirs, novels, children’s books, graphic novels, non fiction, and fiction. But, you can also request books and they will order them. And when you buy it from them instead of through online giants you’re helping to keep the dollars in this store and the Black community of Oakland.

Marcus Books website

Furqan UPDATE 23 – New stores 2018

Ok, so what follows is a bunch of brick and mortar actual physical stores from California to London. What I would like you to do is to visit them if they are near you. Buy my book there and buy other books from them. Support small businesses rather than the huge corporations. If they don’t have a book you want, they can get it for you. Support these also because they have different specialties and tastes, which means you’ll find things you weren’t looking for when you shop. If you’re an author or illustrator, contact them too.
1. Blue Willow Bookshop – Houston TX

2. Book Passage – Corte Madera/ Marin -CA

3. Diesel Bookstore – Larkspur CA

4. East Bay Booksellers – Rockridge CA

5. Green Apple books – San Francisco CA

6. Land Gallery/ Buy Olympia – Portland OR

8. New Beacon Books – London UK (Black Owned)

9. Petunia’s Place – Fresno CA

10. Skylight Books – Los Angeles CA

11. Spectator Books – Piedmont/Oakland CA
If you know an independent bookstore that should have the book, request it there or give the owners my email. Its is info@robdontstop.com

Black is Beautiful 22- Marcus Books Oakland

Lets talk “now”. Right now, Marcus Books has the absolute largest selection of picture books, comics, novels, and non-fiction written and illustrated by/about African Americans than ANY other store in the Bay Area. The next time you think of getting a gift for a new born or a young child, consider starting there, and consider starting them young when it comes to reading for fun. The San Francisco Marcus Books store was the first to be established in 1960, and an Oakland location was opened soon after. For as long as I can remember Marcus Books has been there providing comic books for children, novels, biographies, and text books with a Black focus for college students. lBefore the days of the internet, when I was a student at SFSU you could get anything from Octavia Butler to Assata at Marcus Books, and you still can. The store held meetings, hosted authors and signings, printed their own books, and put their store and lives on the line for students who were protesting for ethnic studies at San Francisco State University. I wont go into the closing of the SF store because it involves a displacement of Black folks in SF and the Fillmore that has been going on for decades, but I will say the Oakland store is a 2 min walk from MacArthur bart and they are still open. If they don’t have the comic, picture book, or novel you’re looking for (focusing on African Americans) then ask them to order it. Marcus Books is landmark in Black History for the Bay Area and the country.