ABSTRACT
This article presents and analyzes the history and connections among various black bookstore experiences in Southeast Brazil between 1972 and 2018. Given the lack of research on the topic in Brazil, this study relies heavily on structured interviews with some of the individuals in the sector, as well as on the analysis of secondary data and news. The stores studied are Livraria Contexto, Livraria Eboh, Livraria Griot, Sobá Livraria e Café, Kitabu Livraria Negra, Iná Livros and Livraria Africanidades, located in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. They are owned by black women and men devoted to selling black and African literature, some of whom have been activists in different segments of Brazil’s black movements. Our findings have advanced a deeper understanding of the social meanings black traders assign to their activity, their reach, the connections among their purposes, and their limitations.
black bookstores; black associations; black literature; social memory