Black Bookstores Through the Years: David Ruggles and the Roots of Black Bookselling in America

Black bookstores in the United States have a history stretching back nearly two centuries, with deep connections to literacy, access, culture, community, activism, and Black freedom.

For this Black Bookstores Through the Years history break, we’re going back to 1834 and the work of David Ruggles, an abolitionist, journalist, activist, and entrepreneur recognized as the first known Black bookstore owner in the United States.

David Ruggles and the First Known Black Bookstore

In 1834, Ruggles opened a bookstore at 67 Lispenard Street in New York City. He sold books, abolitionist pamphlets and journals, stationery, and paper supplies while also offering bookbinding services.

Ruggles later expanded the space to include a reading room, creating another place for people to gather, read, learn, and engage with antislavery ideas.

The bookstore was closely connected to his larger abolitionist work. Ruggles published and distributed antislavery materials, organized against slavery, and used print and access to information as part of that work.

Bookselling, Abolition, and Black Freedom

Ruggles’ abolitionist work made him a target. He faced threats, harassment, violence, and attacks on his businesses. Still, he continued publishing, organizing, selling antislavery literature, and challenging slavery. His work reflected the importance of access to knowledge in the struggle for Black freedom.

A History That Continued

Ruggles’ bookstore brought together bookselling, publishing, literacy, abolitionist organizing, and community during a period when Black access to education and information remained restricted.

The relationship between literature, access, and Black freedom continued well beyond Ruggles’ lifetime, taking different forms as Black bookstores developed across the country.

Names, cities, and circumstances changed, but the need for spaces that center Black readers and Black thought did not.

Nearly two centuries later, Black-owned bookstores continue to create places where people can discover books, gather in community, encounter new ideas, and support Black writers, artists, educators, and entrepreneurs.

That history is part of what Black Bookstore Day recognizes.

Keep Learning With Us

Black Bookstore Day recognizes the history, cultural significance, and continued impact of Black-owned bookstores while celebrating the people and places carrying that work forward today.

For more on Ruggles and others who helped shape the history of Black bookselling in the United States, check out the resources used for this history break:

Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore, by Char Adams

Prose to the People: A Celebration of Black Bookstores, by Katie Mitchell

Black Bookstore Day is Saturday, August 29, 2026. Learn more at blackbookstoreday.com.

#BlackBookstoreDay #BlackBookstores #BlackOwnedBookstores #DavidRuggles #BlackHistory #BlackLiterature

*Information for this post was sourced from the above-listed works. Historical media was sourced from those works and/or publicly available online sources. Where applicable, individual media credits are provided with the images. Cover photo credit historical image depicting David Ruggles: Edward Williams Clay, The Disappointed Abolitionists (1838), lith. Henry R. Robinson