Book-lovers will be sad to learn that London’s most iconic Black bookshop, New Beacon Books, is closing its doors for good.
A pioneer in African and Caribbean literature, New Beacon Books opened in London in 1966 when John La Rose and Sarah White created a space for the growing community of new Black Londoners to read and learn together, even as British life and values sought to disqualify them from the mainstream.
The bookshop on Stroud Green Road in Finsbury Park proved to be a trailblazing success and soon was regarded as a pillar of the community. People would travel from all parts of London and the UK to buy books and to attend events there. It was, in effect, Britain’s Black library, where you could find the books that were unobtainable anywhere else. New Beacon has armed countless inquiring minds with the essential knowledge and history lessons needed to make sense of the world.
Although the physical shop has fallen victim to a combined onslaught from the pandemic and internet shopping, its legacy continues as it pivots to an online mail-order service. New Beacon Books will use its social media pages to keep in touch with the community it has served so well for the past 55 years. We thank you and salute you.
For more visit www.newbeaconbooks.com.
