Wichita Will Recognize Black Bookstore Day

Black Bookstore Day will be recognized in Wichita, Kansas.

On August 18, 2026, the Wichita City Council will issue a proclamation recognizing the last Saturday of every August as Black Bookstore Day in Wichita.

The first observance will take place on August 29, 2026.

Wichita is home to Left on Read, Wichita’s independent Black-owned bookstore and currently the only Black-owned bookstore in Kansas. Left on Read was founded to amplify representation, cultivate perspective, and empower community in Wichita and beyond. But Left on Read is not the first Black-owned bookstore in Wichita and that distinction matters.

Black Bookstore Day is about history, ownership, memory, and recognition, so when we talk about Wichita, it's imperative we acknowledge local lineage. Wichita has been home to other Black-owned bookstores, including one owned by Mr. Curtis Whitten and IQRAA African American Books and Gifts, opened by Jihad Talib Muqtasid and his daughter, Dr. Maaskelah Thomas.

Mr. Whitten’s story reflects the relationship between reading, entrepreneurship, and legacy. In a 2023 interview with WSU TV, he discussed earning his degree from Wichita State University, working for others, loving the work he was doing, and still seeing entrepreneurship as a gateway to building something lasting for his family. His passion for reading and his search for Black literature helped shape his path to opening a bookstore in Wichita.

IQRAA African American Books and Gifts also holds an important place in Wichita’s Black bookstore history. The store opened officially in 1989 and closed in 1998. Dr. Maaskelah Thomas described IQRAA as a place created to provide access to Black books, literature, African artifacts, and resources that were not easy to find in the community at the time.

The store was located at 13th and Spruce, in a building that had once been an auto mechanic shop.

According to Dr. Thomas, her father built around the existing structure and transformed the space into what became a bookstore filled with books, conversation, culture, and community. IQRAA was both a place to buy books and a gathering space. Dr. Thomas remembered people coming through for conversation, young people growing there, teachers finding resources, and community institutions forming from the relationships built there.

This is the work of Black bookstores. They are business contributing to the local economy and they are also places where ideas gather. Where young people listen. Where elders teach. Where people find books they did not know they needed. Where a city’s memory is preserved and passed.

The Wichita proclamation will recognize the cultural, educational, and economic role of Black bookstores. It will affirm the importance of literacy, entrepreneurship, education, and civic participation in Wichita.

When the idea for this observance first began taking shape in August 2025, it was originally developed as National Black Bookstore Day. Since then, conversations with other booksellers and organizations led to a decision to broaden the scope and move forward as Black Bookstore Day. This shift allows cities like Wichita to recognize the day locally while honoring the broader significance of Black bookstores beyond one place, one store, one organization, or one person.

Black Bookstore Day will be observed annually on the last Saturday of August. The August observance, appropriately occurring during Black August and National Black Business Month, acknowledges the relationship between Black literary spaces, Black ownership, Black business, political education, resistance, and community memory.

In Wichita, the recognition begins on August 18 with proclamation. The celebration continues on August 29 and will for years to come.

If you are interested in pursuing a proclamation in your home state or town, see the following sample verbiage.

Title: Black Bookstore Day

Reason: Black Bookstore Day recognizes the cultural, educational, and economic role of Black bookstores. Observed annually on the last Saturday of August, the day highlights the legacy and impact of Black booksellers, authors, readers, and advocates who sustain literature, history, and intellectual exchange.

WHEREAS, Black bookstores have long served as important literary spaces where books, ideas, and public dialogue intersect; and

WHEREAS, for generations these bookstores have preserved otherwise overlooked stories while providing gathering places for readers, writers, educators, and neighbors seeking knowledge and connection; and

WHEREAS, Black Bookstore Day, observed annually on the last Saturday of August, recognizes the historical and present-day contributions of Black bookstores and acknowledges their role in advancing literacy, learning, and the circulation of ideas; and

WHEREAS, recognizing this observance affirms the importance of literacy, entrepreneurship, education, and civic participation in [insert locale], while contributing to a broader appreciation of Black bookstores and their impact.

For more information about Black Bookstore Day, visit blackbookstoreday.com, follow @blackbookstore.day on Instagram, or email info@blackbookstoreday.com.