In 1960, Raye and Julian Richardson opened Marcus Books. Today, the store is the oldest black-owned bookstore in the U.S. and a valuable cultural hub.
In Oakland, California, you’ll find a very special bookstore—Marcus Books—which has been on Martin Luther King Jr. Way for more than six decades.
As the oldest black-owned, independent bookstore in the country, Marcus Books holds an important place in the literary and cultural fabric of the USA. Today, I’m exploring the history of the store and celebrating its current owner, Blanche Richardson.
Marcus Books – The Origin Story
It was the 1930s when Raye Gilbert and Julian Richardson first met. The two highly promising academics were still teenagers and both students at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. In time, they fell in love, married, and began planning their life together.
Raye and Julian Richardson arrived in California in 1946 after Julian left the army. There, Julian started his printing business, named Success Printing Co., in Fillmore, San Francisco.
Raye received her Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley, making both her and her husband doctors. In 1960, the couple founded Marcus Books—named after Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey—which remains in operation and is still run by the Richardson family today.
Speaking of the Richardson family, it grew rapidly. The couple had four children—Julian Jr., Blanche, Karen, and Billy—as well as nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Tragically, both Julian Jr. and his father passed away in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Dr. Raye Richardson lived for two more decades before passing away in 2020 at the age of 99.
The Richardson Family Legacy
These days, Marcus Books is part of the Richardsons’ proud family legacy. Blanche Richardson owns and manages the shop, while Billy Richardson runs the printing business operating on the premises and also creates stained glass artwork to decorate their building.
But while the business remains a family affair, Marcus Books has had plenty of other employees over the years. Blanche recalls one young man in particular who came to work at the store several decades ago:
“My dad asked him ‘Well what can you do?’ and he said ‘I’m a dancer, ’” Blanche remembers.
“And my dad said, ‘We can’t use any dancers, but I can show you how to work the printing press. ’ So we called him the dancing pressman. He wound up one day, as he was dancing, dropping a monkey wrench into the brand new printer.”
The mishap caused $10,000 worth of damage. But Dr. Julian Richardson wasn’t too hard on the young man. He offered to help the young dancer get on with his entertainment career and supported him as he went to New York to seek fame and fortune.
The young man’s name was Morgan Freeman.
“My dad gave him the money to get out there… and get away from his press,” Blanche says with a smile.
Marcus Books as a Cultural Cornerstone
Blanche, Billy, and their team do more than just print and sell books. They have helped Marcus Books become a vital cultural cornerstone in this part of California and, indeed, right across the country.
Over its more than six decades of history, the store has hosted events, talks, and discussions featuring some of the most influential figures in contemporary African-American culture. From sports icons like Mohammad Ali and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to academics like Michael Eric Dyson and Angela Davis, through to literary titans like Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou, Marcus Books has welcomed many hallowed names through its doors.
One of the biggest names of all was activist Rosa Parks—famed for her act of civil disobedience in Montgomery, Alabama, but originally from the Richardsons’ old hometown of Tuskegee.
Still Going Strong to this Day
Blanche Richardson described how her parents had set up the bookstore with a mission in mind. They wanted to help African Americans learn more about themselves through the books and literary works produced by authors like them.
However, Blanche has also said that the project was never intended to exclude anyone. She explained that her parents wanted to create connections with people outside of the African American community, too, giving people the opportunity to connect with writers and ideas that might be difficult to find elsewhere.
More than 60 years after Raye and Julian began their business, their children are keeping the flag flying and the torch burning at Marcus Books. Here’s to many more years to come.
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John Burns
John has been writing ever since he was small, and is delighted to be able to make his living as a writer now he’s not quite so small. Literature has always been a big part of John’s life, and he loves sharing this passion with readers from all over the world.
