Black-Owned Bookstores in metro Detroit Modified: February 10, 2021 | Story by Biba Adams 2020 was a year that saw the racial disparities and divide that exists in the United States come front and center. The coronavirus pandemic disproportionately killed more Black Americans and Black businesses struggled and were less likely to be eligible for funding from the Paycheck Protection Program. StudyBreaks.com says that Black-owned bookstores are “often essential community institutions” whose survival is more important than ever. “The popularity of Black-owned bookstores usually coincides with social movements,” posits the site. “The Black Power Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s saw an increased interest in African American literature and culture. During this time, these were spaces that functioned not only as bookstores but as havens for the communities they served.”