The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the American economy, especially small businesses like independent bookstores. This Indie Bookstore Day, we celebrate the great value of independent bookstores as centers for education and imagination—virtues that have never been more crucial to our well-being, amid a time of unprecedented isolation and national reckonings with injustice.
Black-owned bookstores in particular often extend beyond bookselling, establishing themselves as a committed presence in serving their local communities. We spoke with Onikah Asamoa-Caesar, owner of Fulton Street Books & Coffee in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Malik Mohammad, owner of Malik Books in Los Angeles, California on their literary passions, operating a Black-owned business in America, and their upcoming events.
How did you get your start as a bookseller? What led you to start a bookstore?
I love books. I love the excitement of buying a new book, I love reading books, I love the smell of them, I love talking about books, but I knew nothing about selling them. I took a leap of faith. Opening a bookstore has always been a dream of mine. I decided to open Fulton Street Books & Coffee now because, to borrow from the language of Angela Davis, I could no longer accept the things I could not change, and so decided to change the things I could not accept. I was calling the city of Tulsa home, yet I felt like there was no space for me here, so I decided to create one. Fulton Street is a space that centers the stories, narratives, and lived experiences of BIPOC.
What are some opportunities and/or challenges that have risen as a result of more folks wanting to support Black-owned businesses, particularly bookstores, in light of increased national attention to anti-Black racism and injustice?
Our mission at Fulton Street Books & Coffee is two-fold: build community and increase literacy. We all witnessed the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Many folks started to interrogate the systems that continue to allow Black people to be disproportionately killed by the police. People, particularly white people, were reaching out and wanting to learn more. So we started getting questions such as: “What books can I read to learn more?” “What books should I read first?” “How can I be a better ally as a white person?” The opportunity is directing folks to books that will increase their understanding; the challenge is knowing that reading books is necessary, but not sufficient to truly make lasting and enduring change in this country.
What are some books that you wish more customers knew about?
Pedagogy of the Oppressed should be mandatory reading. Radio Free Dixie is another gem that often flies under the radar. More than anything though, I wish more people were familiar with Black authors beyond texts on race and racism.
As we at PEN America know, indie bookstores are so much more than places to buy books. They’re also community hubs that provide valuable resources, and they’re especially needed in historically underserved areas. What are some ways that your bookstore provides resources or support to your community beyond books?
Post-COVID, I am really looking forward to getting our community programming up and running. Much of our work centers on community and bringing people together, and we find ourselves in a time where, for safety, we can’t gather. Considering the times we are in, I am especially proud of our upcoming launch of The Ayo Fund, created by Max, one of our baristas.
Ayoigbala “Ayo” Olawale was a 22-year-old Nigerian American man from Laurel, Maryland. He loved movies—his favorite was The Last Black Man in San Francisco, an autobiographical film that portrays gentrification through the eyes of a young Black man who is deeply aware of the rich history in his community. Ayo took his life on Tuesday, July 7. In scheduled tweets posted after his death, Ayo shared his suicide note. About his family, he writes, “Seeing the way they reacted to the mental health issues of others (mocking/dismissing depression as a joke or passing feeling) really discouraged me from EVER speaking to them regarding what I was going through.”
Ayo’s family experience is one that is shared by many Black Americans today. According to Thomas A. Vance of Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry, “Black emerging adults (ages 18-25) experience higher rates of mental health problems and lower rates of mental health service utilization compared to white emerging adults, and older Black adults.”
In an effort to combat this, Fulton Street Books & Coffee will be establishing the Ayo Olawale Fund, which will provide financial assistance to BIPOC who have limited access to mental health services.
Tell us about upcoming events or initiatives at your store that you’re excited about.
I am on record so many times talking about the Human Library. It truly is one of the initiatives that I am most excited about. In my culture, there is a practice of sitting at the feet of the elders, continuing a long oral tradition. I am hoping the Human Library helps us preserve some of those stories.
I am also looking forward to how the Human Library can build stronger community and increase empathy and understanding across lines of difference. There is a huge opportunity to potentially change what community feels like, and I can’t wait to get started.