I'm Kelly McEvers, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous places.

Way back in 1834, a store opened up in New York City.

This place was the first of its kind, as far as we know. Nothing like it had ever

existed in New York or in the entire country. It was a bookstore owned and operated by a black

man. His name was David Ruggles, and he was an abolitionist. And his little shop in lower Manhattan

would be the first in a long line of establishments

that were so much more than a place to buy books.

Today I'm talking with Sharr Adams about her new book,

Black-owned, The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore.

She chronicles Black-owned bookstores in America

from David Ruggles all the way to the stores that opened in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter uprisings.

And just so you know, Sharr is a person who stutters.

We have edited this conversation for clarity and length, like we usually do.

We have not edited out her stutter.

Welcome, Sharr.

Hi.

Hi.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me today, Kelly.

So when you started researching this book, you didn't know who David Ruggles was, right? You came across him in the research. Right. So I wonder if you could just tell us about him. Who was David Ruggles?

David Ruggles has become one of my favorite historical figures.

He was so much more than just a bookstore owner.

He was a passionate abolitionist. He basically dedicated his life to,

...