No Crystal Stair

by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

The Studio Museum in Harlem sponsored the Lewis H. Michaux Book Fair annually for six years, until 1981. As part of this event, a Lewis H. Michaux Literary Prize was awarded to a black writer. Another major book fair did not take place in Harlem until 1999, when Max Rodriguez, founder of QBR the Black Book Review, organized the Harlem Book Fair, an event that now draws over fifty thousand attendees and is aired on C-Span’s Book TV.

  Black bookstores in Harlem and across the United States have come and gone. San Francisco’s Marcus Books (named for Marcus Garvey) opened in 1960 and may be the oldest black bookstore still operating in the country. Marcus has a second location in Oakland. Ellis’ Book Store, founded by Curtis Ellis in Chicago in 1960, closed in 1985. Alfred Ligon started the Aquarian Book Shop in Los Angeles around 1940. One of the nation’s largest black-owned bookstores, Aquarian closed in 1994.

  Richard B. Moore sold black books door to door in Harlem in the 1930s and operated a shop in the 1940s. The Liberation Bookstore, owned by Una Mulzac, began business in 1967 on Lenox Avenue, serving the Harlem community for more than 35 years before closing its doors. Today, Harlem is home to the Hue-Man Bookstore, which Marva Allen opened in 2002 on Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Hue-Man stocks primarily black books.

  With or without established storefronts, sidewalk booksellers thrive on busy Harlem streets, standing as evidence that residents still have a thirst for books and will find them wherever they can.

  SOURCE NOTES

  1 Quoted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 3,” November, 24, 1972, 11.

  3 Adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” tape-recorded interview by Michele Wallace, January 18, 1974, transcript, James V. Hatch, Leo Hamalian, and Judy Blum, eds., Artist and Influence (New York: Hatch-Billops Collection, 1997), 123.

  10 Adapted from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” tape-recorded interview by Robert Wright, July 31, 1970, New York City, The Civil Rights Documentation Project, Washington, DC, transcript, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University, Washington, DC, 8–10.

  11 Sentence for stealing a sack of peanuts story adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 124.

  13 Adapted from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 12–13.

  14 “You can’t walk straight . . . in a crooked system” quoted from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 13.

  14 Whiskey story adapted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” September 1972, 50.

  14 “When I look at Poppa . . . staying off my knees” quoted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 123.

  16 Marcus Garvey, quoted from Marcus Garvey Jr., “Garvey,” The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1973), 332.

  19 “Cut box” segment and police raid story adapted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 49.

  21 Adapted from Newport News (VA) Times-Herald, October 12, 16, 1922, and Lillian Ashcraft Webb, About My Father’s Business: The Life of Elder Michaux (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1981), 22–23.

  23 Exchange between Lewis and police officer adapted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 49.

  24 Adapted from Webb, 29.

  24 “Virginia’s ungodly segregation . . .” quoted from Webb, 29.

  25 “Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux and Congregation—Happy Am I” YouTube video, posted by Madoserer, October 14, 2007, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtkU5glPQ_4 (May 30, 2011).

  28 “Sin sticks . . . still your record is exactly the same” adapted from Happy News, “Mrs. Michaux’s Gospel Message to All,” July 2010, 2.

  28 “These people always have something up their sleeves . . . Kingdom of God,” August 2002, scripture from The King James Bible, Titus 1:16, Psalm 101:7.

  29 “These people want to go to heaven . . . satisfied with hungry ” quoted from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 2, 4.

  29 “If the so-called Negro goes to school . . . take it for himself,” ibid., 5, 18.

  30 “The church did black folks good . . . take their minds off things here,” ibid., 49.

  30 “You can eat onions . . . People should be balanced in their thinking,” ibid., 42.

  32 “I don’t want any religion . . .,” Lewis H. Michaux Jr., discussion with author, 2010, scripture from The King James Bible, Romans 12:3, Titus 1:15.

  33 Adapted from “Mrs. Michaux’s Gospel Message to All,” Happy News, August 1999, 5.

  35 “I left the pulpit for the snake pit,” Lewis H. Michaux Jr., discussion with author, 2010.

  36–37 Quoted from Lightfoot Solomon Michaux, “Program of the National Memorial to the Progress of the Colored Race in America,” presented at Golden Gate Auditorium, New York, n.d.

  39 “I say so-called because . . . perpetuate slavery” quoted from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 2.

  39 “Seems to me if a man . . . charge for your labor” quoted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 125.

  39 “The black man asleep . . . scratching” from New York Times, “Lewis Michaux, 92, Dies; Ran Bookstore in Harlem,” August 27, 1976, D-15.

  42 Harlem banker story adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 1,” October 20, 1972, 11.

  42 “If you know, you can grow,” Lewis H. Michaux Jr., discussion with author, 2010.

  43 “I told him I’d honor his farm project . . .who came before” adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 124, 129.

  43 “Some let me comb . . . and a hundred bucks” adapted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 50, and Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 1,” 3.

  44 Adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 2,” 3.

  45 “Seems he’s objecting to some of the books . . . got to sell books” adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 2,” 3, and “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 126.

  46 Window washing story adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 125.

  46 “. . . the way to hide something . . . put it in a book,” Lewis H. Michaux Jr., discussion, 2010.

  47 “Truth is, the whole continent . . . opportunity right here” adapted from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 22–23, 38.

  48 “I had but three books . . .Work gets it” quoted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 123–124, and Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 1,” 11.

  53 Adapted from Olive Batch Micheaux (former bookstore employee and niece of Lewis H. Michaux by marriage to Norris E. Micheaux Jr.), interview by author, summer 1996.

  55 Adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 1,” 3.

  56 “Even truth carries a propaganda” quoted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 3,” 7.

  56 “I am a professor in my own field . . . he has lived a thing” quoted from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 19.

  57 “Garvey is a brilliant man . . .when they couldn’t” quoted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 4,” December 8, 1972, 3–4.

  57 “At the time, nobody was talking . . . And he wasn’t for sale” quoted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 47–49.

  58 Quotes from Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux, Sparks from the Anvil of Elder Michaux, comp., ed. Pauline Lark (New York: Vantage Press, 1950), 16, 53, 86, 21, 139.

  60 “You can be black as a crow. . . that’s fo’ sho’” quoted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 1,” 3.

  60 Calvin story adapted f
rom Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 1,” 3, and “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 127.

  62–63 Calvin story adapted from ibid.

  66-67 Langston Hughes, The Dream Keeper and Other Poems (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993), 2, 64.

  69-70 Poetry from ibid., 63, and Paul Laurence Dunbar, The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1944), 9–10.

  71 Story adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 126.

  76 Adapted from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 6, 20, 35; Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 5,” December 22, 1972, 3; Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 48, 49; Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 4,” 3, 13; Peter Goldman, The Death and Life of Malcolm X, 2nd ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1979), 52.

  78 Adapted from Hugh Pearson, When Harlem Nearly Killed King (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2002), 39–45, 65–68; David Garrow, Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (New York: William Morrow & Co., 1986), 109–112; Stephen B. Oates, Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. (New York: Harper Perennial, 1994), 137–140.

  80 Adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 4,” 13.

  82 Adapted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 49, and Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 5,” 12.

  87-88 Goddam White Man story adapted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 46, and Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 3,” 7.

  88 “If I wake up . . . trouble’s got to happen” quoted from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 14.

  89 James E. Turner (founding director of the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University), telephone interview with author, November 6, 2000. 89 From Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 49.

  91 Adapted from New York Amsterdam News, “9000 Hear Muhammad in Capital,” September 16, 1961, 23; Jet, “Over 4,000 Hear Michaux, Muhammad Religious Debate,” September 28, 1961, 21; and Louis A. DeCaro Jr., Malcolm and the Cross: The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, and Christianity (New York: New York University Press, 1998), 144–145.

  94 “Everyone has ears to hear, but not everyone can hear God” quoted from Happy News, “Mrs. Michaux’s Gospel Message to All,” March 2009, 2, scripture from The King James Bible, St. Matthew 11:15.

  96 A. Peter Bailey (journalist and former bookstore patron), taped telephone interview with author, March 19, 2001, and follow-up telephone discussions, 2001–2011.

  99 Coffee story adapted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 48, and “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 125.

  101 Malcolm X comment at rally adapted from New York Times, “Malcolm X Scores U.S. and Kennedy,” December 2, 1963, 21.

  102 Adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 5,” 3.

  103 Adapted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 48; “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 34; Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 5,” 3.

  105 “He was a major influence . . . impressed by his oratorical skills” quoted from Rodnell P. Collins, Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X, with A. Peter Bailey (Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing Group, 1998), 94.

  105 Abdullah Abdur-Razzaaq, former social secretary for Malcolm X, telephone conversation with author, March 7, 2011.

  106 Bailey interview and discussions.

  107 “I was to be on the platform . . . sitting beside him” adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 129, and Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 5,” 3.

  111 Lewis H. Michaux Jr., discussion with author, 2011.

  111 Lewis H. Michaux Jr., discussion with author, 2010, and Goldman, 377.

  111 “They had to get rid . . . freest man” quoted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 47.

  111 “The Nation of Islam . . . spellbound” adapted from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 35.

  111–112 “Malcolm is reincarnated . . . Let it come!” quoted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 2,” 13.

  112 Bailey interview.

  113 Adapted from Collins and Bailey, Seventh Child, 93–94, 191.

  114 Adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 4,” 13.

  117 “. . . have been throwing . . . you’re responsible” adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 3,” 7.

  117 “Some men came to me . . . as an individual,” ibid, 11.

  118 Adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 126–127, and Lewis H. Michaux Jr., discussion with author, 2010.

  118 Adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 128–129.

  119 “I didn’t make enough money . . . nine years old” adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 1,” 3, 11.

  119 “Every company that publishes . . . built up my reputation” adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 125–126.

  119 “If you can’t find it . . . sincere in what you’re doing” quoted from Encore, “A Conversation with Lewis Michaux, Chester Himes and Nikki Giovanni,” 47.

  119 “True, I haven’t been to a show. . . back to get that baby” quoted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 1,” 11.

  119 “Sure I could move . . . out of here for nothing” quoted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 3,” 11.

  121 Adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 3,” 11–12.

  123 Nikki Giovanni (poet and former bookstore patron), taped telephone interview by the author, May 31, 2010.

  124 Adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 2,” 3.

  126 Giovanni telephone interview.

  126 Lewis H. Michaux Jr. (son of Lewis H. Michaux), tape-recorded interview by the author, August 1999, and follow-up discussions via phone and e-mail, 1999–2011.

  127 “Violence originated in Heaven . . .when he’s attacked” quoted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 2,” 13.

  127 “Until the neglected . . . nowhere!” Lewis H. Michaux Jr., discussion, 2010.

  127 “Only a tree . . . chopped down” from Gerald C. Fraser, “Lewis Michaux Is Eulogized in Harlem as a Bookseller Who Changed Lives,” New York Times, August 31, 1976, 31.

  130 Adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 127–128, and “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 40.

  132 “Was there a political agenda . . . any lengths to stifle them?” from Basir Mchawi, “Another Kind of Warrior,” Black News, October 1976, 10–11.

  133 Adapted from Chuck Moore, I Was a Black Panther (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1970), 33–40.

  140 Charles E. Becknell Sr. (pastor and former bookstore patron), taped interview with author, June 18, 2010.

  142 “Since the Rock left office . . . east side of the state office building” adapted from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 128.

  142 “We understood there was no room . . . silent on the matter” adapted from ibid.

  144 Jet Magazine, “Eviction of Harlem Bookstore Owner Is Protested By Leaders,” February 7, 1974, 28–29.

  146 “Nature produces you and nature . . .want
to die on the battlefield,” Lewis H. Michaux Jr., discussion.

  147 Adapted from New York Amsterdam News, advertisement, October 26, 1974.

  149–150 Adapted from Gerald Gladney, “Michaux’s—The Man and the Institution,” Spirit Magazine: An African Publication, Spring 1975, 28–29.

  151–152 Adapted from taped conversation between Lewis Michaux and his great-nephew Norris E. Micheaux III, and discussions with Norris E. Micheaux III. “A person has to have confidence . . .went to work doin’ it” quoted from ibid.

  152 Lewis H. Michaux Jr. (son of Lewis H. Michaux), tape-recorded interview by the author, August 1999, and follow-up discussions via phone and e-mail, 1999–2011.

  154 New York Daily Challenge, “The First Annual Michaux Book Fair,” April 6, 1976, 9.

  155 “You’re building upon . . . make it a reality” from taped conversation, between Lewis Michaux and Micheaux III, and Micheaux III, discussions.

  156 “Where did I get this literary idea? . . . iceman” from “Dr. Lewis Michaux,” 125.

  156 Calvin/doctor story adapted from Third World, “Lewis Michaux: The World’s Greatest Seller of Black Books, Part 1,” 3.

  157 Becknell interview.

  158 Adapted from a poem by Norris E. Micheaux Jr.

  159 “I listen to everybody . . . lose your individuality” from “Louis Michaux, Owner, National Memorial Bookstore,” 6, 18.

  PERMISSIONS

  “The Dream Keeper,” “I, Too,” and “Mother to Son” from THE COLLECTED POEMS OF LANGSTON HUGHES by Langston Hughes, edited by Arnold Rampersad with David Roessel, Associate Editor, copyright © 1994 by the Estate of Langston Hughes. Used by Permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Harold Ober Associates Incorporated.

  “Michaux’s—The Man and The Institution,” by Gerald Gladney, Spirit Magazine: An African Publication, Spring 1975. With permission of Ken Smikle, publisher and editor, Target Market News, Chicago, IL.

  “Mrs. Michaux’s Gospel Message to All,” Happy News, The Official Publication of the Gospel Spreading Church of God, August 1999, March 2000, August 2002; Sparks from the Anvil compiled and edited by Pauline Lark; “Program of the National Memorial to the Progress of the Colored Race in America,” presented at Golden Gate Auditorium, New York, NY; “A Sketch of the Life of Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux”; The Man and His Vision: Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux, Celebrating 85 Years of Grace, 1919–2004 ; Presenting a Pictorial Review of Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux, International Radio Evangelist, Gospel Spreading Church of God. With permission of Deacon Jasper W. Sturdivant, Happy News Publishing Co.