The Frederick Douglass Book Center served as a bookshop and meeting place for the minorities of New York City. The center contained literature that specialized in African,

Afro-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, and

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

history and culture. The center remained in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

until it was torn down in 1968.

Founder

The Frederick Douglass Book Center was founded by

Richard B. Moore Richard Benjamin Moore (9 August 1893 – 1978) was a Barbados-born Afro-Caribbean civil rights activist, writer and prominent socialist. He was also one of the earliest advocates of the term African American, as opposed to Negro or "black". ...

in 1942. Richard B. Moore was a Caribbean activist and businessman who stood for

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and

black nationalism Black nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that black people are a race, and which seeks to develop and maintain a black racial and national identity. Black nationalist activism revolves ar ...

. The Frederick Douglass Center was launched with help from friend and second wife Lodie Biggs. Biggs later went on to become the sales representative of the Center.

Background

Richard B Moore opened the Frederick Douglass Book Center in 1942 on West 125th Street in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

. Moore originally attempted to follow the example of George Young, the man who created the first

book shop in Harlem. The initial stock of the center was part of Mr. Moore's own private collection. Most of the books that were located in the center, however, were not for sale. In fact, the Frederick Douglass Book Center was not considered a "store at all". The Center grew into a meeting place of Caribbean activists around the state. These activists shared

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

political views. They also supported the advancement of the Caribbean economy and independence. These activists included Dr. C. A. Petioni of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

; historian J. A. Rodgers, A. M. Wendell Malliet, W. A. Domingo, and Miss Vivienne Packer of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

; Reginald Pierrepointe, Bishop Reginald G. Barrow and Lionel M. Yard of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

; Atty. Hope R. Stevens of Nevis; Dr Gerald A. Spencer of St. Lucia; Arthur E. King of

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

; and Hodge Kirnon of

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

The end of the Center

The center was taken down by the state of New York in 1968 for the construction of the

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building The Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, originally the Harlem State Office Building now called “Lekisha R Turner State Office Building”', is a nineteen-story, high-rise office building located at 163 West 125th Street at the corn ...

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Harlem African Americans and education Buildings and structures demolished in 1968 Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan Bookstores in Manhattan 20th century in Harlem