Best Richardson Bookstore & Museum

The Best Richardson African Diaspora Literature & Culture Museum is primarily a bookstore. The large main room features shelves full of new, used, and rare books. Art and artifacts from around the world—including Africa, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor—are also displayed and are for sale.

About Best Richardson African Diaspora Literature & Museum

Located at 83 Washington Street, this bookstore and museum highlights educational artifacts and information on the literary and cultural history of people who were torn from their country and moved to other parts of the world. The first Best Richardson bookstore opened in 1997 in Virginia. They expanded to other locations, settling for a time in Tampa before moving to St. Augustine. Each of their endeavors supports their mission to share literature and information to help others better understand African history and culture.

The bookstore and museum provide scholars, of every age, the opportunity to view educational artifacts, information, and the literary and cultural history of the Africans who were uprooted from their homes and their descendants.

The Bookstore

This African American-owned bookstore sells new and used books for children and adults. They also sell gifts, t-shirts, greeting cards, and rare books. Some books are by bestselling authors of today, and others were written by authors underappreciated in their time. Writers and craftsmen of African descent created many of the items in the store. The bookstore also sells children's books that celebrate diversity and teach history.

The Museum

Also located at 83 Washington Street, the museum is open for 30-minute tours at a suggested donation of $10.00 per adult and $5.00 per child. The Best Richardson Museum focuses on the literary contributions of free people of color, enslaved people, and their descendants. The museum exhibits include clothing, historic artifacts, and antiquarian written material. The museum is a 501(3)(c) corporation. 

Classes

The museum offers beginning classes for groups and one-on-one instruction for those interested in their genealogy, showing them how to research and trace their family tree. The classes are led by Docent Gigi Best who has traced her family back to the 1500s, and learned about ancestors and family members who were English, African, and members of the Gullah Geechee people. Best is a member of 10 literary societies.

The Best Richardson African Diaspora Literature & Cultural Museum offers tours of their artifacts, classes in genealogy, and books and gifts for sale. Their African American-owned bookstore has been mentioned in Conde Nast Traveler and O, The Oprah Magazine.

The bookstore is open from noon to 5:00 p.m.,  Wednesday through Saturday. They have ample free parking for the bookstore and museum customers.