Hakim’s in West Philadelphia Carries Banned Books to Serve and Educate the Community

Multimedia story by Corey Thompson and Sarah Weitzman

The wide variety of books is what attracts Angela Oliveira, a West Philadelphia mother with a passion for literature. Hakim’s Book Store’s devotion to educating her community has kept her coming back, especially now that book bans targeting black authors are on the rise.

Angela Oliviera reading to her daughter Gianna in West Philadelphia on Friday, April. 5, 2024

“So to go in a bookstore that’s all African American it’s all about us that makes me happy because I know that if I see a book that I want, I can go to Hakim’s and get it,” Oliveira said.

Black representation matters at Hakim’s Bookstore offers books tailored to the community such as African American studies, Children’s books, and fiction books.

Recently, the bookstore was given a historical marker right outside the building.

“Banning books is to me just a way to keep African Americans oppressed and to make us second-class citizens and to deny us our rights,” said Yvonne Black, Owner of Hakim’s Bookstore.

PEN America, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to protect free expression, tracks all book bans in libraries and classrooms across the U.S. They found that books about race, racism, or characters of color make up 30% of the books that are being banned.

However, Philadelphia has made a conscious effort by creating a new initiative called Our Free(dom) Libraries, which started in 2004 to promote literary expression by offering a free way to obtain a banned book.

There are 13 small libraries throughout the city, which include notable black-written books like All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall, and Beloved, by Toni Morrison.

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