Black – Owned – Char Adams (1)

The book had been burned and banned, and an angry crowd chased Ali out of the Apollo Theater during an appearance. Fugate and Hamilton sold the book anyway. “It’s selling as fast as romance novels do,” Fugate told the Los Angeles Times in 1990. Like Black booksellers in general, Fugate and Hamilton weren’t too concerned with national book bans.

They sold Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Walker’s The Color Purple, despite the two being among the most challenged books of the 1990s. Fugate “evaluated” the books Eso Won sold, making sure they didn’t sell anything the owners deemed too extreme. They were okay with books that courted controversy but rejected titles that they believed could promote dangerous and violent ideologies. As for their decision to sell Ali’s controversial book, the booksellers thought the work was foolish and even ridiculous but essentially harmless in the grand scheme of things.

Perhaps Fugate underestimated the social impact of such a book. But he figured no one would take Ali’s directives seriously. He saw the book simply as an interesting, hyperbolic diatribe that would sustain sales but have no real, material effect on the Black community. Though the controversy and fanfare over the book faded, Eso Won’s newfound notoriety continued thanks to Fugate and Hamilton’s communal approach to bookselling. Alongside sponsored author talks, locals constantly stuffed themselves into the store for impromptu, passionate discussions about Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., sorting out their legacies and connecting their missions to movements of the ’90s.

It was through this community engagement that Eso Won gained its reputation as an educational center. Fugate and Hamilton appealed to young readers by sponsoring book signings at local high schools and colleges. Soon, Eso Won’s name was routinely mentioned in local newspapers, with journalists citing it alongside the Aquarian for its impact. The Los Angeles Times declared in a 1993 article that the store “adds to life in this city.” Eso Won’s vast inventory set it apart from shops like the Aquarian and specialty bookstores that sold only certain genres.

Along with works by Langston Hughes and James Baldwin, customers could find audiotapes from historian Yosef Ben-Jochannan and titles by Paula Giddings.

Copyright © 2025 by Charlene Shanae Wilson Adams Penguin Random House values and supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission.

You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader. Please note that no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. Tiny Reparations and Tiny Reparations Books & Design are registered trademarks of YQY, Inc. Permissions appear on this page and constitute an extension of the copyright page. Cover design by Dana Li Cover image of Haki R Madhubuti from Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty; image of Lewis H Michaux from Robert Elfstrom/Villon Films/Getty; image of Clara Villarosa by Denver Post/Getty.

Book design by Jenni Surasky, adapted for ebook by Maggie Hunt library of congress cataloging-in-publication data has been applied for. Hardcover ISBN 9780593474235 Ebook ISBN 9780593474259 The authorized representative in the EU for product safety and compliance is Penguin Random House Ireland, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin D02 YH68, Ireland, https://eu- contact.penguin.ie. prhid_prh_7.3_153843600_c0_r1 1kitap1.com/en CONTENTS DEDICATION INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE First Officer of the Underground Railroad CHAPTER TWO A Bookstore Under Siege CHAPTER THREE Liberation Could Get You in Trouble CHAPTER FOUR Books Through the Rebellion CHAPTER FIVE Black Books Without Black Power CHAPTER SIX The Golden Age of Bookselling CHAPTER SEVEN The Early Aughts and the Karibu Bookstore Chain CHAPTER EIGHT The Battle Against Gentrification CHAPTER NINE A Bittersweet Racial Reckoning CHAPTER TEN A New Generation of Booksellers CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS BOOKS BLACK BOOKSELLERS WANT EVERYONE TO READ BLACK-OWNED BOOKSTORES IN THE US BY STATE PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS NOTES ABOUT THE AUTHOR 1kitap1.com/en For my father, Charles R.

Wilson Jr. No life is wasted, nor is any life without legacy. May this book be a part of yours. Rest in peace. 1kitap1.com/en INTRODUCTION I LOVE TO TELL PEOPLE’S STORIES.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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