BWFJ members Ruykia and Ajamu Dillahunt founded FREEDOM BOOKS
Freedom Books and the Boycott of Crabtree Valley Mall
The Gregg Museum of Art & Design held a discussion last month exploring a pivotal moment in Raleigh’s social and cultural history. Through a conversation with three key figures, the discussion unpacked the origins of the Crabtree Valley Mall boycott, the role of Freedom Books — Raleigh’s first African American bookstore — in the boycott, the leadership of Black youth and the legacy of Malcolm X. From the front lines of the 1970s labor disputes, this talk examined how a shopping center became a stage for community power and political expression. The speakers:
Midtown Legal Group attorney Ta-Letta Bryant, who helped lead the boycott when she was a high school student in southeast Raleigh
Health equity researcher and action consultant Niasha Fray, who played a leading role in the boycott
Dukes Ice Cream and Dogs owner Morris “Duke” Freeman Sr., who participated in the boycott and helped build a Black youth organization in southeast Raleigh after the boycott
Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway, an assistant professor of African American history and public history at NC State and the grandson of the owners of Freedom Books, moderated the discussion. Dasan Ahanu, co-founder and managing director of the Durham-based Black Poetry Theatre, performed with a spoken word piece.
This program was presented in conjunction with the featured exhibition, Community Stories: Sustaining North Carolina Black Heritage, which presents a series of vignettes exploring spaces of dignity, belonging, safety, and imagination within Black communities across North Carolina.
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