Putting Black Art Plus in Context

Dr. George Miller has owned Black Art Plus for forty years and for forty years it has been the go-to place for books on Black history and African art of varying kind ranging from paintings to prints, unique hand-crafted artifacts, figurines, etc. 

Black Art Plus was founded against the backdrop of a renewed era of Black Consciousness. The mid to late 1980s experienced a rebirth of sorts of the 1960s and 70s Black Power Movement. Black bookstores served as meeting places for Black book clubs, were a 24-hour news grapevine for information about the Black World and the perfect spot to host local, national as well as internationally known writers, poets and lecturers. Spaces like Black Art Plus served a cultural, intellectual and social need in communities that many public libraries were unable to fill. 

Shortly after Dr. Miller put down stakes on Parsons Avenue in 1986 urban America witnessed the rise of conscious rap that built on the early works of artists such as The Last Poets, Sly and the Family Stone and Gil Scott-Heron not to mention poets Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou. 

Boogie Down Productions’ By All Means Necessary, Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Ice-T’s The Iceberg, and Jungle Brothers’ Straight out the Jungle were just a few of the lyrical wordsmiths whose poignant messages saturated the airwaves. These rap artists sought to enlighten listeners and instill in them a level of political consciousness intended to inspire people to bring about change not only in the Black community but around the world. 

By the early 1990s Black Art Plus had become a staple on Parsons Avenue. In the wake of Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic Malcolm X books about the Black experience flew off the shelves at Black Art Plus. Dr. Miller couldn’t replenish his stock fast enough. Demand was that high.

Nearly anything that one wanted or needed that was African or African American Black Art Plus had it. If it wasn’t in stock, Dr. Miller knew how to get it. A popular hangout from the moment it opened by the early 1990s, that area of Parsons Avenue had morphed into a hub of intellectual vibrancy that resonated with folks of all walks of life. 

Parsons Avenue won’t be the same when Black Art Plus finally vacates the property at the end of this month. In a conversation with Dr. Miller yesterday that covered many topics he revealed to this writer that it was a trip to Los Angeles in the early 1980s that sparked the idea to open Black Art Plus. “There was a similar store in LA that I found fascinating and thought it would be a good idea to open up something like that here in Columbus” said Dr. Miller. Before long Black Art Plus had come to fruition. 

When asked what he found most gratifying about owning the business Dr. Miller responded: “Seeing the people come out and gravitate to books by black authors and about Black history, both in the U.S. and abroad in places like Africa and other areas of the world as well as pick up African artifacts that reflected the Black experience.”

Foot traffic at Black Art Plus yesterday was constant and heavy as the line of customers sometimes spilled onto the sidewalk as shoppers waited to get inside to get a peek at the store’s wares hoping to land that once-in-a-lifetime-deal. As Dr. Miller and I sat on metal folding chairs outside the store and talked amid buzzing bees and overcast with the constant threat of rain that did not materialize until late afternoon a steady stream of visitors approached him and shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and snapped photos. 

Mayor Andrew Ginther was among those who stopped by and offered well wishes. The mayor even presented Dr. Miller with a handsome certificate acknowledging his staying power and contribution to the city. 

Some longtime friends and acquaintances hugged the trailblazing nonagenarian, congratulated him on his accomplishments and took a stroll down memory lane. Many admitted being sad to see him go recalling their memories of first stepping foot inside Black Art Plus. One gentleman blurted out proudly that the first book he ever bought as a young man was purchased at Black Art Plus. When I inquired about the book’s title he responded “Assata,” the autobiography of the former New York Black Panther who took refuge in Cuba for nearly fifty years after being broken out of the Clinton Correction Facility for Women in 1979.

At any rate, when I heard last week that Black Art Plus would soon be closing its doors for good it was important that I rearrange my schedule and visit with its owner who also happens to be my fraternity brother. Brother Miller crossed the burning sands into the illustrious Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. at Gamma Psi in the winter of 1952 at historically Black Talladega College in Jim Crow Alabama. Years ago, Brother Miller was an active member of Mu Iota, Columbus’s oldest graduate chapter in the kingdom of Omega. 

In sum, Brother Miller’s imprint on the city of Columbus, Ohio, over the course of forty years is cemented, the memories he provided many who experienced the wonders of Black Art Plus are indelible and his impending retirement can only be aptly described as well deserved. Although 43 Parsons Avenue will eventually give way to a new tenant the shadow cast by Black Art Plus and its owner will forever loom large. 

Judson L. Jeffries, PhD, MPH, is Professor of African American and African Studies at The Ohio State University.