The Oldest Black Bookstore in the Country
By: Olivia Cruz Mayeda
There’s a photo of Muhammad Ali by the checkout counter of Marcus Books in North Oakland. In the photo, Ali beams at the camera, his head high.
“That photo was taken right there in that corner,” Blanche Richardson said, pointing to the kids section by the front window of the store. “People lined up all the way down and around the block to Telegraph to see him.”
Muhammad Ali, Rosa Parks, Toni Morrison, Angela Davis, James Baldwin, and Malcolm X are just some of the many legendary Black activists and authors to pass through the doors of the Marcus Books, which is named after political activist and writer Marcus Garvey.
A storied, historical gemstone with deep roots in the Bay Area, Marcus Books is the oldest surviving independent Black bookstore company in the nation. Like its original location in San Francisco, the store in Oakland specializes in texts written about Black people and by Black authors.
When Muhammad Ali visited Marcus Books in 1999, he stayed two extra hours longer than he originally planned just to accommodate all the folks who wanted to meet him. He entertained requests from visitors to hug him or even try their hand at punching the three-time world heavyweight champion.
Richardson, the daughter of original owners Dr. Raye Richardson and Dr. Julian Richardson, now helps run the store and sits behind the checkout counter. The photo of Ali is pinned up behind her left shoulder.
After her parents met at Tuskegee University, Richardson’s father started Success Printing in San Francisco. Years later in 1960, her parents opened the first Marcus Books in the Fillmore District. Redevelopment, which saw the forced eviction of many Black families and businesses, compelled Marcus Books to move locations several times. In 2014, continued gentrification forced the closure of its San Francisco location.
The remaining Marcus Books in North Oakland holds an important history within itself and the community it serves.
“The store provides a repository of information and knowledge about the history, culture, challenges and achievements of Black people,” Richardson said. “We have hosted hundreds of school field trips over the years and it is a joy to see children recognize themselves and their history in a positive way.”
In June, Marcus Books celebrated Black fathers on Father’s Day. The store documented patrons and their children embracing one another and presenting their new books, which has been compiled into a video on their website. In one frame, a father and his kids proudly present their copies of Carole Boston Weatherford’s The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Astrophysics for Young People.
“Our love of Black people” is what lies at the heart of Marcus Books, she said.
The bookstore weathers a tough market as customers increasingly buy their books on larger online stores. Richard urges us to consider a future without independent bookstores.
