by Daniel Johnson
August 10, 2025
The group was based by Kevin Johnson, former NBA participant, Sacramento bookstore proprietor, and ex-mayor.
On Aug. 6, the Nationwide Affiliation of Black Bookstores, a member-based nonprofit group launched in an effort to advertise literacy, amplify Black voices and to protect Black tradition.
The group was based by Kevin Johnson, a former NBA participant and the proprietor of Underground Books in Sacramento, California, in addition to the previous mayor of the town from 2008-2016.
As Johnson instructed Writer’s Weekly, he wished to honor the reminiscence of his mom “Mom Rose” Peat West, the unique founding father of Underground Books who died in December 2024.
“I wished to start out NAB2 to honor her legacy as a result of she cherished Black bookstores and wished to see them thrive,” he instructed the outlet. “My aim in serving to to discovered the group was to convey the consultants collectively, couple them with important sources, and be sure that communities may reap the advantages of Black bookstores for generations to come back.”
Though the American Booksellers Affiliation has been criticized for not adequately addressing the wants and issues of Black booksellers, Johnson pressured that these booksellers not be part of his group as a substitute for the ABA as a result of he desires to work with them to create extra alternatives for Black bookstores.
Among the many board members of Johnson’s group are Maati Primm of Marahall’s Music and E book Retailer in Jackson, Miss., which was based in 1938, and Yvonne Black of Hakim’s Bookstore in Philadelphia, based in 1959, in addition to and Onikah Asamoa-Caesar of Fulton Road Books & Espresso in Tulsa, Okla., and Dara Landry of Class Bookstore in Houston, each of which had been based in 2020.
As well as, different board members embrace Jordan Harris of Alkebu-Lan Photos in Nashville; Janet Webster Jones of Supply Booksellers in Detroit; Blanche Richardson of Marcus Books in Oakland, Calif.; and Troy Johnson of African American E book Lit Membership in Tampa, Fla. Lucille O’Neal, finest generally known as the mom of former basketball participant Shaquille O’Neal, and likewise an creator in her personal proper, can be a board member.
The board members, particularly Jones and Landry, additionally famous that NAB2 may very well be used to construct out a whole provide chain to assist Black authors and Black bookstores.
In response to Jones, NAB2 is “an effort to tug collectively Black booksellers and shops in an overarching group that might not simply advocate, but additionally associate with different points of the trade. We wish these new bookstores to make use of the sources which might be simply ready for them,” Jones continued. “NAB2 can assist them with all that. This group can assist and help in methods we haven’t even discovered but.”
Forward of the announcement from Johnson and NAB2, the Black Bookstore Coalition, headed by Ramunda Lark Younger, the proprietor of Washington D.C.’s Mahogany Books, launched a public letter disclosing that Johnson wished the teams to unite underneath his management, however her group in the end determined towards his proposal.
“After considerate dialogue and a management vote, we’ve determined to not align with [NAB2] and can proceed our work independently,” Younger wrote in her letter. “Our choice was formed by member issues concerning the important overlap in missions, the timing and rollout of the request, and components of Mr. Johnson’s public file that warrant reflection and due diligence.”
She continued, “We imagine there’s room for a number of efforts to thrive. Teams such because the ABA’s DEI Committee, regional bookselling associations, and lots of others are additionally working laborious on initiatives that assist us and this ecosystem. We imagine this work should all the time be rooted in care, neighborhood belief, shared values, and collective imaginative and prescient.”
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