{"product_id":"black-owned-the-revolutionary-life-of-the-black-bookstore","title":"Black-Owned by Char Adams","description":"\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eThe Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eLongtime NBC News reporter Char Adams writes a deeply compelling, rigorously reported history of Black political movements, told through the lens of Black-owned bookstores, which have been centers of organizing from abolition to the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eIn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eBlack-Owned\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e, Char Adams celebrates the living history of Black bookstores. Packed with stories of activism, espionage, violence, community, and perseverance, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eBlack-Owned \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003estarts with the first Black-owned bookstore, which an abolitionist opened in New York in 1834, and after the bookshop’s violent demise, Black book-lovers carried on its cause. In the twentieth century, civil rights and Black Power activists sparked a nationwide Black bookstore boom. Malcolm X gave speeches in front of the National Memorial African Book Store in Harlem—a place dubbed “Speakers’ Corner”—and later, Black bookstores became targets of FBI agents, police, and racist vigilantes. Still, stores continued to fuel Black political movements.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eAmid these struggles, bookshops were also places of celebration: Eartha Kitt and Langston Hughes held autograph parties at their local Black-owned bookstores. Maya Angelou became the face of National Black Bookstore Week. And today, a new generation of Black activists is joining the radical bookstore tradition, with rapper Noname opening her Radical Hood Library in Los Angeles and several stores making national headlines when overwhelmed by demand during the Black Lives Matter era. As Adams makes clear, in an age of increasing repression, Black bookstores \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eare needed\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e now more than ever.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eFull of vibrant characters and written with cinematic flair, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eBlack-Owned \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eis an enlightening story of community, resistance, and joy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eAuthor Info:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eChar Adams\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e is a former reporter for NBC News and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003ePeople\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e, and her writing on race and identity has appeared in the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eNew York Times, The New Republic, Oprah Daily, Vice, Teen Vogue, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003eand\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e Bustle\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;\"\u003e. She hosted COVID University New York, one of the first podcasts to chronicle the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. She is a proud Philadelphia native and now lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"font-family: 'Segoe UI'; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 20px;\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"_0587f07bc455df72 b08a942fb7634f0f\"\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 44.9731%;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 54.697%;\"\u003eTiny Reparations Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 44.9731%;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 54.697%;\"\u003eNovember 4, 2025\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 44.9731%;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 54.697%;\"\u003eEnglish\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 44.9731%;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 54.697%;\"\u003e304 pages\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 44.9731%;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eItem Weight\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 54.697%;\"\u003e13 oz (0.81 lb)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 44.9731%;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"width: 54.697%;\"\u003e5.71 × 8.52 × 1.06 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Loc'd and Lit","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45041362731061,"sku":null,"price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0695\/0489\/2981\/files\/91RgS7uMWGL._AC_UF1000_1000_QL80.jpg?v=1778713657","url":"https:\/\/locdandlit.com\/products\/black-owned-the-revolutionary-life-of-the-black-bookstore","provider":"Loc'd and Lit","version":"1.0","type":"link"}