OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — Marcus Books, the oldest Black-owned bookstore in america, has been a cultural cornerstone for over 60 years, amplifying Black voices and fostering neighborhood within the Bay Space. Based in 1960 by Dr. Raye and Julian Richardson, Marcus Books started as a printing press in San Francisco’s Fillmore district earlier than relocating to Oakland.
It shortly turned a hub for Black Research, the Black Panthers, and the Civil Rights Motion.
“My parents, Dr. Raye and Julian Richardson, built Marcus Books out of a love for literature and liberation,” stated Blanche Richardson, Basic Supervisor of Marcus Books.
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“The Panthers were here. The Black psychologists, the Black social workers—they all started by meeting here,” Richardson added.
Marcus Books has hosted notable figures akin to Nikki Giovanni, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Muhammad Ali, who’ve visited and left their phrases behind.
Akaysha Calhoun, granddaughter of Blanche Richardson, mirrored on the bookstore’s impression, saying, “As a child, the bookstore gave me hope. I knew I could be an artist, a doctor, a scientist, because I saw it every day.”
Cherysse Calhoun, half proprietor of Marcus Books, described the legacy of the bookstore as a “beautiful living space” the place guests can really feel the heat of each the current and the previous.
All details from this text have been gathered by KRON4 journalists. The article was transformed into this format with help from synthetic intelligence. It has been edited and authorised by KRON4 workers.
