When you step onto Bayou Road in New Orleans, the rhythm feels different. The street is lined with Black-owned businesses, murals, and a spirit of resilience that stretches back generations. At the heart of it all sits the Community Book Center (CBC) — the city’s oldest Black-owned bookstore and a cultural anchor since 1983.
From a Trunk to a Movement
The story begins with Vera Warren-Williams, a substitute teacher who saw a gap in the classroom. Students weren’t seeing themselves reflected in the literature being taught. At just 24 years old, she ordered 13 books—including Alice Walker’s The Color Purple—and started selling them from her parents’ house and the trunk of her car.
What started as a hustle for representation soon grew into a grassroots movement. The demand for African-centered books and resources pushed Vera to expand, eventually opening a storefront.
Finding a Home on Bayou Road
In 2003, the Community Book Center planted permanent roots at 2523 Bayou Road, a corridor steeped in Black history and enterprise. The space quickly became more than a bookstore—it became a cultural hub. Inside, you’ll find not just books, but African art, fabrics, jewelry, and a rotating lineup of local authors, community events, and school programs.
Walk into CBC on any given day and you might see a book signing by a national author, a storytelling circle for local kids, or elders gathered to share wisdom.
A Legacy of Literacy and Culture
CBC isn’t just about selling books—it’s about building identity, pride, and community resilience. Over the past 40 years, it has hosted legendary voices in Black literature, while also spotlighting homegrown talent. It’s one of the few spaces in the city where cultural education and business intersect in such a meaningful way.
Founders Vera Warren-Williams (affectionately known as Mama Vera) and Jennifer Turner (Mama Jennifer) continue to hold down the space, welcoming generations of readers, artists, and educators who understand the power of Black stories.
40 Years and Counting
In 2023, CBC celebrated its 40th anniversary, a milestone that solidifies it as not just a bookstore, but a living archive of New Orleans’ Black cultural life. From its humble beginnings in a car trunk to becoming a neighborhood cornerstone, CBC embodies what it means to create something for the people, by the people.
Why It Matters Today
In a world flooded with digital noise, places like Community Book Center remain sacred. They remind us that books are more than products—they are vessels of history, healing, and empowerment. For New Orleans, CBC is more than a shop on Bayou Road. It’s proof of what happens when community and culture guide business.
📍 Community Book Center
2523 Bayou Road, New Orleans, LA 70119
readcbc.com
