August 6, 2025, 2:35pm
Today we mark the launch of a new literary institution: the National Association of Black Bookstores.
A nonprofit collective and member-based organization, the NAB2 looks to “amplify Black voices, and preserve Black culture by increasing the visibility, sustainability, and impact of Black bookstores and booksellers.”
The group is the brainchild of Kevin Johnson, former NBA All-Star and ex-mayor of Sacramento. Johnson was drawn into the literary fold by his mother, Georgia “Mother Rose” West, who owned and operated Underground Books in California. One of too few Black-owned bookstores, Underground was “a community hub and gathering place” vital to the community it served.
West died last December. But NAB2 seeks to honor her legacy by lifting up similar shops. In the long term, the organizers mean to build a nation-wide infrastructure that can collectively advocate on behalf of Black-owned bookstores.
Inaugural board members come from all around the country, and represent several stores that have been in business for generations. Leaders from Marshall’s Music and Books (Jackson), Hakim’s Bookstore (Philadelphia), Marcus Books (Oakland), and Source Booksellers (Detroit) will guide the association’s first years.
The group joins a rich fraternity of niche bookselling orgs, like the indie-forward American Booksellers Organization, and the regionally minded Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. Even its own mission isn’t entirely without precedent.
The Black Bookstore Coalition, formed in 2020, currently represents 40+ Black-owned bookstores around the country. Aiming “to elevate our businesses through community, cooperative economics, and education,” the BBC publishes a monthly bestseller list and maintains a directory of Black-owned bookstores.
As Publishers Weekly reported this afternoon, an attempt to merge the orgs has been made—but leaders of the BBC expressed concerns re: overlapping goals. For now, we celebrate abundance! And note that the NAB2’s emphasis on advocacy and the BBC’s on education may yet distinguish the missions of both collectives.
So what does this mean for you, reader?
NAB2 is offering a multi-tiered membership model, that “invites bookstore owners, professional booksellers, and at-large industry allies, authors, publishers, and distributors, to join in shaping [its] national agenda rooted in equity, culture, and commerce.”
You can learn more about their work and mission here. (And the BBC’s, here.)
