Origin Story

13803 Puritan was once just another abandoned building. Vacant for over 25 years, it sat overlooked and forgotten. A reminder of what had been lost, and what had yet to be rebuilt.

In June 2024, that changed.

The building was purchased by Jerjuan Howard, a native son of the neighborhood and founder of Umoja Debate League, with a vision to transform it into something meaningful. Not just a business, but a place rooted in purpose. A community bookstore.

For Jerjuan, this building is personal. He grew up just blocks away and walked past it every day on his way home from middle school. Where others saw decay, he saw possibility. Where others saw abandonment, he imagined restoration.

This transformation was never meant to happen alone.

The Howard Family Bookstore was developed through a community effort grounded in self-determination. Family, friends, and community members came together to bring the vision to life. They painted walls, installed floors, hung drywall, and built something that could belong to everyone.

People like Aaron Thomas gave their time, energy, and skill not for recognition, but because they believed in what this space could become. His contribution, like so many others, is permanently embedded in the foundation of this bookstore.

That spirit of collective effort is not new.

In September 2022, just one block away, Umoja Debate League transformed three vacant lots into Umoja Village, a vibrant community space featuring a garden, public art, and a stage for youth programming. It became proof that transformation is possible when a community decides to invest in itself.

Two years later, the bookstore became the next chapter in that same story.

The significance of this location cannot be overstated. Within a 1.5 mile radius, there are five K–12 schools. Every day, hundreds of young people pass through this corridor. Yet for years, there was no space dedicated to literacy, imagination, or intellectual growth.

The Howard Family Bookstore exists to change that.

It stands as a physical reminder that books belong in every neighborhood. That knowledge should be accessible. That young people deserve spaces that reflect their brilliance and expand their imagination.

But this is bigger than books.

The Howard Family Bookstore is not just a business. It is a movement. It represents the belief that the solutions to our community’s challenges already exist within us. It sits at the intersection of youth development, community care, self-determination, and collective problem solving.

This space was created to rewrite the narrative.

To show what is possible when someone chooses to invest in the place that raised them.
To turn vacancy into vision.
To transform what was once forgotten into something that will never be overlooked again.

The Howard Family Bookstore opened its doors on April 25, 2026 marking not just the opening of a bookstore, but the continuation of a story that belongs to the entire community.