Black Books Matter

09/06/2023

About us.

Allow us to introduce ourselves, Derrick, Ramunda and our new college freshman, Mahogany (we’re officially empty nesters now). We are the owners & founders of MahoganyBooks. Proud HBCU grads (Shout out to Langston Univ. & Bowie State). Some of you are new here and others who’ve been rolling with us since we began online 16 years ago - to now, a physical store in Washington, DC, a location in Maryland, and late August, we’ll have a presence at National Airport in Virginia!

One of the reasons we created MahoganyBooks in 2007 was our commitment of making Black books accessible no matter where you live in the states. Not just the hot titles, but the ones often buried behind bestsellers, ones that have been pillars in the Black community for decades. Written by brilliant leaders, intellectuals, innovators, followers of African centered thought, and many others—often overlooked. Books that have sustained our people —even when we were HUNG for the very act of READING. To us, owning a bookstore is an act of revolutionary resistance all its own. Can you imagine having ancestors murdered because of their zeal and excitement to read words on a written page? Whew! And here we stand today, on the shoulders of our ancestors —OWNING a store full of Black Books! It often brings us to tears.

This thing runs so very deep with us. Study after study show when you read books with characters that reflect your own ethnicity, it INCREASES self-confidence and self-esteem. This is paramount to us. Growing up, many of us didn’t have access to books that looked like us, but instead were forced to read characters and storylines that never shared our story or experience. So yes, we proudly stand in such a time as this along with our fellow bookselling family who came before us and those working tirelessly now.

Again, welcome to our , where Black Books Matter. EVERYDAY!✊🏾
August is Black Business Month. Let’s continue to be intentional with our coins.
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02/18/2022

Quite simply, our bestsellers list is a representation of the kinds of literary content that matters to them. So without further ado, we present our January 2022 MahoganyBooks Adult Bestsellers

https://buff.ly/34Q2Bb9

10/20/2021

Rest In Peace gifted brother Pinkney.

The Caldecott Award-winner died of a heart attack on Wednesday. He was well-known for illustrating over 100 children's books, including The Lion and the Mouse, particularly ones depicting Black life.

07/04/2021

06/13/2021

🛑Just a couple of days ago: A federal judge halted a $4 billion federal loan relief program aimed at addressing longstanding inequities for farmers of color after a legal challenge by white farmers argued the policy discriminates against them.”
Natalie Baszile, author of Queen Sugar, releases her latest masterpiece, We are Each Other’s Harvest. “In the 1920s, there were over one million black farmers; today there are just 45,000. Baszile explores this crisis, through the farmers' personal experiences. In their own words, middle aged and elderly black farmers explain why they continue to farm despite systemic discrimination and land loss.

The Returning Generation--young farmers, who are building upon the legacy of their ancestors, talk about the challenges they face as they seek to redress issues of food justice, food sovereignty, and reparations.” We’ve got you covered with this one: 💻 or 🏬.

05/29/2021

in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We must know our history.

"Hidden Messages" By Marlin Lavanhar

Museums and celebrations are wonderful, but not when they are seen as a substitute for actual justice and repair.

The Nobel Prize winning NGO, Human Rights Watch, published an Argument for Reparations in Tulsa, stating:

“Under international human rights law, governments have an obligation to provide effective remedies for violations of human rights. The fact that a government abdicated its responsibility nearly 100 years ago and continued to do so in subsequent years does not absolve it of that responsibility today—especially when failure to address the harm and related action and inaction results in further harm, as it has in Tulsa.”

The survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, and their descendants, have lost millions of dollars of generational wealth. What took their parents and grandparents a lifetime to build, was destroyed overnight. No perpetrators were held responsible. No African American was paid damages. None of the survivors received reimbursements by insurance companies.

The city avoided paying millions of dollars in damages. In other words, Tulsa taxpayers have avoided paying to redress the wrongs. Therefore, they had the funds to build infrastructure and generational wealth. The insurance companies avoided millions in payouts and therefore continued to build their wealth. The perpetrators who looted, killed, and destroyed property were not held responsible—so they continued to be able to work, own property, and build generational wealth.

The survivors lost nearly everything and had to start over.

Tulsa taxpayers today are benefiting, directly and indirectly, from money that rightfully should have been paid to the survivors in 1921. People who claim that “today’s taxpayers should not have to pay damages for what an earlier generation has done,” are missing how they are beneficiaries of the ways the city and state have avoided financial responsibility.

As Tulsa reaches the centennial of its worst day, there is another ongoing tragedy. The current generation of leaders doesn’t see the benefit of finally repairing the injustice and repaying those who were harmed.

Keep in mind, in the past year the US government has paid its citizens direct cash payments and has seen how doing so stimulates the economy and benefits the whole society. In the same way, direct payments to survivors and descendants would support the local economy and benefit the entire Tulsa community.

Reparations is not only the right thing to do for the survivors and their families, but it would also have benefits for the entire city.

04/09/2021

I hope you've enjoyed the first two essays from our Black Books Matter: From the Writers' Perspective series. The first two pieces dealt with FAMILY & MENTAL HEALTH. This week, Olu Burrell makes his debut to the series by addressing IDENTITY with a teaser for his next post. Let us know what you think and leave a comment.

Check it out at https://bit.ly/3fVSKUo

03/24/2021

Wow! Surprised and honored to be named 1 out of 5
Finalists for Bookstore of the Year! We didn’t see this coming. Through ups, downs, and everything in between, it’s a joy to serve our customers. Talk about a year of having to institute new processes and procedures out of the blue when you’ve rocked it out for 14 years? Whew, lol! We’re still learning, growing, improving and ultimately enjoying the blessing of a journey we’re on thanks to so many of you and our phenomenal team. Cheers to the other dope finalists as well. book fam! Black Books Matter!

02/10/2021

Sooo, we’re doing a thing! We’re excited to announce our second MahoganyBooks location in the DC/MD/VA region opening this summer. Our minds are still blown. This deal was in the works BEFORE the pandemic and were finally here. Where do you think it will be? Should be? Official word hits the street tomorrow morning and (Thursday) if you’re one of the 5 folks who do know, shhhh! In the meantime, where do you think our second location will be? Accepting all prayers as we take this next big leap. Whew!

02/07/2021

Honored to have President Barack Obama join us.

The MahoganyBooks | Very Smart Brothas Book Club was joined by special guest, President Barack Obama, to discuss his new book A Promised Land.

02/07/2021

(thank you).
・・・
It’s Black History Month ✊🏾
•If you’ve ever wondered why we put Black owned in front of our businesses, this is why.
•If you have ever wondered why we are so adamant to tell the stories of our ancestors, this is why.
•If you have ever wondered why there’s no such thing as a White history month, here you go.
•If you have ever been confused by the concept: pro Black doesn’t mean anti White, so boom. This is for you.
•If you needed an explanation as to why Black people are so loud in their pride, it’s because our entire lives, we have been made to feel inferior. Read that again.
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This level of inception by school systems has attempted to break down the confidence in Black children from the beginning. Parents, be responsible. Don’t expect for schools to educate your children on the their history. Read them stories of Mansa Musa. Show them the pyramids. Explore photos of the beautiful cities in South Africa. Black history does not begin with slavery. We were once Kings and Queens. We still are. -