About Black bookstores - The closure of Hue-Man Bookstore

by Willie White, Executive Director

Sacred space is disappearing from our communities with too little fanfare: the Black bookstore. Recently, one of the largest Black bookstores in the nation—Hue-Man Bookstore—announced it would shutter its doors in Harlem, the proverbial capital of Black America. Hue-Man is just the latest in a line of Black bookstores in particular, and bookstores in general, that are disappearing from the urban landscape. As bookstores continue to go out of business--- if we’re not careful---a culture of literacy, interpersonal engagement and community building may disappear with them.

I am part of the problem. I spend more time and money purchasing books online than going into brick and mortar bookstores. But there was a time when the bookstore was one of my favorite destinations because it held a wealth of information and people who showed me another side to my community, culture, and intellectual life. Black bookstores have never been mega-stores like Barnes & Noble but often have been small individually-run libraries of community enrichment.

The Black bookstore, to me, has always used an inverted capitalism model. Let me explain. Black bookstores have historically been spaces to expose visitors to an alternative set of literatures, histories, and authors. When I first began visiting Black bookstores I would ask them if they carried specific titles. Many times they would not, but a worker or patron would suggest an alternative that they did have in stock. I soon learned to enter and ask, “What do you recommend?” From there I’d be exposed to books that covered revolutionaries on the continent to novels on Caribbean immigrants in the United States. In this way, the inventory wasn’t driven by consumer demand; instead the inventory created a demand among consumers. While intimidating at first, once I became acclimated, it was liberating and enlightening.

Forthcoming research by Marc Lamont Hill stresses the importance of Black bookstores beyond simply selling books. For example, each month Reuben Quansah would coordinate and run a book club at Hue-Man that discussed books ranging from Manning Marable’s tome on Malcolm X to Steve Harvey’s “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man.” The diversity of book subjects was only exceeded by the diversity of minds present, from elders who organized with the Nation of Islam, to high school students who had just been exposed to “Assata.” These types of interactions and discussions can’t be substituted for with Amazon recommendations or even Google+ hangouts. We need Black bookstores because we need more chances to see the diversity and depth of our people. Bookstores provide a place to understand the realities we’ve faced and to plot the path we must tread.

Nationally, traditional bookstores are going the way of the dinosaur and even large-scaled retail stores like Borders have not been able to make ends meet. In seeing Hue-Man close, I’m reminded of strings of independent bookstores like Nkiru Books in Brooklyn, Liberation Bookstore in Harlem, and many others that have come and gone, and of stores like Marcus Books in Oakland, which struggles to remain open. Hue-Man, like others, is exploring different models for online vending and potential partnerships, but this is still a challenge in tepid financial times. Even as we explore these new models we’ll need to make sure that the value of bookstores beyond the books remains for future generations. The hope for Black bookstores is dim, but the need for them is great.

Dr. R. L'Heureux Lewis-McCoy is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Black Studies at the City College of New York. His work concentrates on race, education and gender. You can follow him on Twitter at @dumilewis or visit his official website

AVillage Community Clean-up

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Just finished cleaning our community with 25 Saint Rose students. Had a great time!! After cleaning our Community, this wonderful young lady came by our work site and offered us to come by her church and have lunch. Ms. Ruth Coleman-Nelson, she fed 25 hungry students at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church on Alexander Street, where the Great! "Pastor Dixon" resides. That goes to show that it Really does takes AVillage! The Students were very appreciative.Thank you Ms. Ruth Coleman-Nelson

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Hello Everyone, AVillage would like to invite you to attend our first annual "Mississippi Day Celebration" we are projected to commence this very exciting event on September 15, 2012. You are invited to share in the planning of this great day, we are also asking all Mississippian's to call up your family members and tell them the great news.

We are coming together and we are presently looking for cooks, organizers, musicians, softball teams, basketball teams, committee people and much more. Please stay tuned for future updates.

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Find Your Way in Life

by Willie White

One thing that I've learned over the years is that you have to find your way in life. I'm beginning to find my way. We take so much for granted in our daily lives. People are hurting and we are to busy complaining about the small things.

I was shopping this morning at Price Chopper. A lady came in the Market and told one of the worker that a man had passed out on the sidewalk. When I got outside, I went over to him and said that everything was going to be ok. I told him to hang in there, the ambulance was on the way. He started to cry. I asked him what was wrong. he said that they shouldn't have called the ambulance. I told him that he had bumped his head and that he should go and get checked out.

I was drinking a nice hot cup of coffee that I had just got from dunkin donut. He looked at my coffee and said, "I wish I had one of those." That coffee was so good but I gave it to him. You would think that that coffee was gold. he really appreciated it and I'm so glad I gave it to him.

I waited until the ambulance arrived and explained to the EMT what had happen, then I was on my way home. When I was driving away, I couldn't help from crying myself. I thought about how much people are hurting and how we, as a society takes so much for granted, I believe I'm finding my way in life. In order to find your way, you must first get your self out of the way, if you know what I mean.

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Our communities should never depend on Politicians.  We should do it ourselves. Now if you are trying to get a political dig in, that's not my style.  I look to the People!