Bookstores

Blooming from the tumult of the Civil Rights era, Black bookstores emerged during the Black Arts Movement as cultural hubs where some of the first seeds of slam poetry, spoken word and hip-hop were planted. In 1968, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover hoped to curb ​“the establishment of Black extremist bookstores which represent propaganda outlets for revolutionary and hate publications,” ordering his agents to pursue a targeted, nationwide surveillance. Today, a new generation of Black bookstores is blossoming amid the upheaval of the Movement for Black Lives.