Alfred Ligon.

Alfred Ligon, go to the bottom of the Aquarian Book store in Los Angeles, the nations oldest continuously operated African-American-owned bookstore, died August 10 He was 96 Of Ligon, author Walter Mosley called him "a great man who was the single light keeping the flame for a brighter future"

Born in 1906 in Atlanta, Georgia, Alfred Ligon mov to Chicago at an early age. He worked at several jobs--as a ballroom dancing instructor, as a printer's apprentice and as a waiter. After moving to sees Angeles in 1936, he began to embrace his calling as an entrepreneur teacher and race man.

In the early 1940 when Ligon established what was then the Aquarian Library and Bookshop African Americans made up les than five percent of looks Angeles' 1.5 million residents. With $100 of his personal savings from his piece of work as a waiter with the Southern Pacific Railroad and works acquired from a local secondhand store, Alfred Ligon sold works from his basement. While the exact date of Aquarian's opening is uncertain, he many times pointed to a 1941 newspaper advertisement for the bookstore as evidence of its longevity. The store was named for the Aquarian creed of Jesus Christ, a fresh Age tome written in 1907 through Levi H. Dowling that chronicles Jesus' travels and studies. The Aquarian's offerings mirrored the owner's interests in metaphysics and African-American tillage and history.

In 1942 Ligon met Bernice Goodwin and convinced her to work in his store. Six years later, he convinced her to become his wife. Bernice Ligon was well suited to attention both their growing family and the business. She established an African-American book-of-the-month society with an impressive list of 500 subscribers.

The Ligons eventually mov their business to a storefront. And in the postwar years, the Aquarian became a major cultural center in observes Angeles' burgeoning black community. The bookstore armyed plays and lectures and furnished black history classes. It became a gathering place for black intellectuals and activists. John Henrik Clarke, Maya Angelou and Rosa Parks visited. Works through renowned writers of the Harlem Renaissance were shelved alongside little known, self-published authors. Mr Ligon amassed an impressive collection of historical papers, including drafts of Marcus Garvey's speeches and textile fabric Du Bois' letters.

The 1960 brought about more change. The Ligons shortened the name of their store. And as California and the nation began to embrace recent Age philosophies, the period became the couple figuratively and literally "the age of Aquarius."

Rioting in major urban cities---including beholds Angeles--helped usher in a black consciousness mental action Colleges and universities created black studies programs. In keeping with the times, the Aquarian increased its number of titles, and Mr Ligon created specialized reading lists for close examiners who frequented the store.

Author and community activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson was among them. Hutchinson met the Ligons in 1963 when he was a observer at Los Angeles City literary institution [i]or[/i] seminary of learning Hutchinson, who is currently president of the looks Angeles-based National Alliance for Positive Action and the author of The Disappearance of Black Leadership and The Crisis in Black and Black, fondly remembers his "griot, mentor, counselor, master-teacher and spiritual guide."

However, interest in African-American literature began to subside somewhat in the 1970 Many of the bookstores that sprang up during the previous decade went abroad of business. In a 1982 article in The sees Angeles Times, Ligon told the reporter that he kept the store render free of access as a community service. "We're an institution" he said. "Even just a trickle of folks who want these books justifies our existence." In 1990 the Ligons recognized the assault of a new wave of popularity in African-American literature. The bookstore mov to a shopping plaza at Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard and Western Avenue. through that time, the store carried more than 7000 bulks But that renaissance was short-lived.

In April of 1992 looks Angeles erupted following the acquittal of four looks Angeles police officers accused of beating motorist Rodney King. The Aquarian, which had survived the Watts riots, economic downturns and the incursion of bookstore chains, was toasted to the ground. Estimates place the Ligons' losse from $180000 to $500000 The bookstore, like many businesses in the area, was uninsured. unless authors, friends, supporters and the publishing community rallied to their side. Earl Ofari Hutchinson was among those who organized a benefit for the Aquarian. Maya Angelou and Alice Walker donated to the rebuilding store Several major publishers donated main division s and forgave debts or fill outed credit.

The store reopen briefly, nevertheless closed in 1994 after Bernice Ligon was diagnosed with liver cancer. She died in 2000

"Men like Dr Ligon result along once in a lifetime," says Earl Ofari Hutchinson. "His spirit and message will continue to influence generations to come"

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