During the last weekend in October 2023, Marcus Books store in Oakland was vandalized, resulting in damages upwards of hundreds of dollars.
About 12 years ago, the store was also vandalized when the assailants broke the front window, and did not take anything, but left a Muhammad Ali coffee table book that cost $200 untouched.
History of Marcus Book Store and the Move to Oakland
Drs. Raye and Julian Richardson founded Marcus Books, named for Marcus Garvey, in the Fillmore District in San Francisco. They also had a printing press and published independent authors, poets, and artists, and Black-authored books that had previously been out-of-print. The Richardsons were advocates of Black History, Black knowledge and giving a voice to Black writers. The store’s motto is, “Books by us or about us.”
The Oakland store, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 40th Street opened in 1976 and is operated by Blanche Richardson, daughter of the Richardsons. Due to economic hardships, the San Francisco location closed in 2014.
Unnecessary Crime?
The thing about it, the crime at Marcus Books was an unnecessary crime as Blanche would have given the thief at least one of those books. She is known to have gifted readers who could not afford books. When I spoke to Blanche a few days later, she said, “Did you see what he was wearing? What was that all about?”
There is a video aired by the various news outlets and social media that shows the individual who broke in. The assumption was the suspect was a young kid, in their teens or early 20s. But this was a man who appeared to be in his late 40s, early 50s, who calmly helped himself. It is ironic that the thing that stood out to me was the suspect wore a shirt that appears to say “Black Panther” underneath a blazer.
Respect Your Community
What does it say about a person who does not respect the community? One would have to be low down and dirty to break into an institution the caliber of Marcus Books.
Do people who violate others’ personal and business property not care about others or about history and legacy? If shame were a thing, there would be a lot of it, but there is no shame. Why take from those that give to and uplift the community?
Many of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s in Oakland are of the belief that one must respect yourself, others, and your community. That one’s actions in public reflect on your family.
I want to give this “brother” the benefit of the doubt. Let us give grace to the suspect and allow him some humanity. But why did he do it? Was this an impulsive act? Or had he been going through a challenging time in his life?
The Fight is Real and the Journey Continues
The physical damage was more than breaking glass; there was damage to a beautiful stained-glass window, a work of hand-made art crafted by Blanche’s brother, Billy Richardson.
But in this misfortune, a good thing happened. In November, some community businesses honored Marcus Books by holding a ceremony at the store with an unveiling of a mural by Refa Senay, which gave the store a fresh look. Billy also revealed a new stained-glass piece. There was a vegetarian food vendor, and community-related tables set up to dispense information on literacy and other vendors. In March, activist Dr. Angela Davis held an event at the City Arts Center in San Francisco as a fundraiser for Marcus Books.
Though the mystery of the book bandit has not been solved, Marcus Books did what they always do: bring the community together as a place where Black knowledge is celebrated and appreciated by all who embrace it.
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Update: the original version of this op-ed stated that the person breaking into Marcus Books wore a shirt that said “Black Panther Party” on it. We have updated the essay to reflect what is seen in the video.
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