In the photo, from left: James McField, Dorothy McField, and Chester Owens (who has since passed away) in January 2023. They are standing in front of what used to be the bookstore. The shop is memorialized in the McFields’ personal museum in Wyandotte County.

This is The Hub, a Black-owned bookstore that ran in Kansas City from 1968-1975.

Couples James & Dorothy McField and Chester & Lillie Owens opened the store to provide Black books to their county.

Despite the hardships, owners said running the bookstore was some of the best years of their lives.

There’s a point in your career when you meet all the people you saw on TV, get close enough to so-called elites in your profession and realize, “Man these folks aren’t special at all.” The reverence for these folks and this publication is the ultimate proof of this. www.semafor.com/article/05/2...

Unpopular opinion: I don’t mind dog-eared pages. In fact, I prefer them to bookmarks. To me, they signify that a book is being read and loved and returned to. I love it.

I’m seeing a lot of posts about how certain immigrants sent to El Salvador are not actually criminals and this is true but I would also like to remind you that people with criminal records shouldn’t be subjected to this, either.

My doctor said if y’all don’t preorder my book, ima die. If it ain’t one thing it’s another😞😞 #BlackSky #BlackBookSky
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734577...

Hey y’all! I’m pleased to see that the Webby Awards still has a DEI category and I’m asking you to vote for Empire City to win that category. (if you think we deserve a Webby. Only a few days left to vote. We’re currently in 4th place. Thank you! vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...

People who pronounce gif like “jif” and Android users — are the same people. I will not be explaining.

I know how to play Spades now. Y’all can’t be talkin to me no any kind of way!

Every day a new boycott.

No list of demands, no serious organizing/foundation, no alternatives for ppl who rely on these places, just “don’t shop there” and vibes.

*and browbeating folks whose only access to affordable baby formula is the Walmart up the street. very unserious.

On Friday, Feb. 28 at 12:40 p.m my homegirl accused me of liking a man. I haven’t slept since.

I have never liked a man in my life. I don’t even have any exes. Never even dated a man in my life. I swear, y’all! The weather is warming up, I can’t afford these kinds of allegations right now. PLS

Thank you to the American Booksellers Association for having me and my curls at #WinterInstitute2025! (And for letting me say jawn during my keynote!)

I have a newsletter where I share even more analysis and thoughts on bodily autonomy. It's free to read—please sign up!!—but you can be a patron of my writing by becoming a paid subscriber. Think of yourself as a Medici, but good
www.susanrinkunas.com/trump-doesnt...

I moderated a panel in front of 1K people today at a conference and accidentally said “that’s a good jawn.”

This is why you can’t take me nowhere. 🤦🏾‍♀️

Free Palestine.

Coates, a former Black Panther, and a few of his comrades opened The Black Book in 1972 to send books inside prisons and create jobs for incarcerated people after release.

The Black Book is part of George Jackson’s legacy. This is part of an FBI file targeting the store. #bhm

George Jackson was a revolutionary. He served 7 of an indeterminate prison sentence in solitary confinement. He founded the Black Guerilla Family (a Black power org) and championed liberation efforts from the inside. San Quentin prison guards killed him in 1971.

This is W. Paul Coates at The Black Book, the Maryland bookstore he founded as the HQ for the George Jackson Prison Movement.

I’m at #winterinstitute2025 this weekend!

I’m so excited to moderate this panel of amazing Black booksellers✊🏾📚 #WI2025

Thank you so much!

Annnndddd we have a cover! 📚

Pre-order is now available for “Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore.” It’s the first-ever full length book chronicling the history of Black-owned bookstores in the U.S.

Pre-order here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734577...

On Audre Lorde’s birthday, I’m thinking about her Kitchen Table Press.

She (second from left), Barbara Smith, Cherrie Moraga and Hattie Gossett came together to establish a press centering feminist and lesbians of color — and it shook the publishing industry. #bhm

I'm hosting this with @interruptcrim.bsky.social - please come through! Meetup: Journalists and Media Makers Concerned About Criminalization. bit.ly/JournalistsM...