The Best Black-Owned Bookstores Across America

These literary meccas across the country are great places to hear author talks and take a deep dive into the contributions of Black writers and creatives to American and global culture. Support them in person or shop online for Black History Month.

January 31, 2022

By: Mariette Williams

Shop This Look

Photo By: The Little Boho Bookshop

Photo By: Solid State Books

Photo By: Semicolon Books

Photo By: The Little Boho Bookshop

Photo By: Turning Page Bookstore

Photo By: Willa's Bookstore

Photo By: Harriette's Bookshop

Photo By: Getty Images/Boston Globe

Photo By: Getty Images/Tibrina Hobson

Great Books

Across America, Black-owned bookstores serve as resources for books of all kinds, including titles by Black authors. Many of these bookstores are also unofficial community centers for book clubs and author book signings and for introducing the joys of reading to children. Read on to see some of our favorite Black-owned bookstores across the country.

Solid State Books - Washington, DC

Situated in D.C.’s busy H Street Corridor, Solid State Books offers a wide range of fiction and nonfiction titles.The convenient downtown bookstore also has an onsite cafe that serves snacks and drinks. Solid State Books organizes weekly story time for kids and also hosts visiting authors and artists. Since 2017, the bright and spacious bookstore has served as an “intellectual and social hub” for D.C. and its neighboring residents. Shop online.

Semicolon Bookstore - Chicago

Semicolon Bookstore was founded with the mission to serve the community and change the narrative of Black bookselling and buying. In one of their community initiatives, called #cleartheshelves, they invite local Chicago public school students to take home any books they want, free of charge. Shop online.

Reading Rainbow

A Black woman-owned store, Semicolon Books also serves as a gallery space, and the walls are decorated with bright murals by local artists.

Book Art

Colorful murals make Chicago's Semicolon bookstore even more appealing.

The Little Boho Bookshop - Bayonne, New Jersey

Located in Bayonne, New Jersey, The Little Boho Bookshop has been around since 2017. The outside of the bookstore is just as charming as the inside, and guests can sip tea or coffee on the storefront’s patio. Shop online.

Cozy Spot

The Little Boho Books founder, Sandra Dear, opened the store after a 15-year career in the publishing industry. She wanted to create a cozy spot where readers could pick up current bestsellers along with their longtime favorites titles.

Turning Page Bookshop - Goose Creek, South Carolina

Turning Page Bookshop’s bright green and yellow interior and wall-to-wall windows makes it feel warm and welcoming. The South Carolina bookstore has been open since June 2019 and recently partnered with a local literary non-profit, Reading Partners of South Carolina, to host community-wide reading programs. Shop online.

Multipurpose Community Hub

The owner of Turning Page Bookshop VaLinda Miller says, “We’re the only Black bookstore in the state, and we sell every genre. We also sell coffee, and we have wine feasts, book clubs and signings.”

Willa’s Books - Kansas City, Missouri

The creation of Willa Robinson, Willa’s Books started with Robinson selling books as a street vendor, and Robinson has been in the current location in Kansas City since 2015. The store is well stocked and specializes in rare and first-edition prints by Black authors along with vintage records and magazines. Robinson says Willa’s bookstore is “the store with a personal touch.”

Harriette’s Bookshop - Philadelphia

Named after Black abolitionist Harriet Tubman, Philadelphia's Harriette's Bookshop is on a mission to “celebrate women authors, women artists and women activists.” The bookstore opened in 2020, and one of its unique features is a backyard book nook. Harriette’s Bookshop also sells merchandise that pays homage to literary greats like Zora Neale Hurston, Octavia Butler, Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. Shop online.

Olive Tree Books-n-Voices - Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is home to the Olive Tree Books-n-Voices bookstore that's been around since 2004. The store carries over 500 titles, focusing on African American and religious books. There’s a Young Reader’s Room and an Inspirational and Religious Room stocked with relevant texts, and the store also offers gift baskets and inspirational novelty items. There's a couch and a rocking chair for guests to read and recline, adding to the bookstore's homey feel.

Owner Zee Johnson, 65, renovated a former crack house into the bookstore that exists today. It is one of only three Black-owned bookstores in the state. Shop online.

Frugal Bookstore - Boston, Massachusetts

The mission of Frugal Bookstore is “Changing Minds One Book At a Time.” Opened in 2008, the family owned bookstore is the first Black-owned bookstore in Boston, and the lovely gray exterior invites visitors into a space filled with books by diverse authors. The owners, Leonard and Clarissa Egerton, provide book recommendations on social media and the bookstore is often a setting for book clubs and poetry readings. Shop online.

Pioneer Pages

Owned by Leonard and Clarissa Egerton, the Frugal Bookstore is the only Black-owned bookshop in Boston.

Eso Wan - Los Angeles

Eso Wan has been serving the Los Angeles area since the 1990s, and the store is recognizable from the outside only by the red and black block letters spelling out the store name in the display windows. The store feels intimate, with bookshelves lining each wall. Visitors can choose from a selection of books including young adult and graphic novels, cookbooks and photography books, primarily from Black authors. Over the years, Eso Wan has hosted Toni Morrison, Ta-Nehisi Coates and former President Barack Obama for book signings. Shop online.