We recently connected with Kazemde Ajamu and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Kazemde thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
The Black Dot Cultural Center launched in January 2017 after I shared a written overview of what the business would look like with Jhavaun and Marie Green of Green Love Kitchen. Jhavaun and Marie offered me the opportunity of a lifetime after reading the overview. They allowed me to set up my bookstore in front of their restaurant. After 9 months, I took the opportunity to move my bookstore next door which is where Black Dot Cultural Center is still located today. Now, I provide a space that allows other small and local vendors to sell their products inside the store, paying it forward.
I am dedicated to education. I believe that knowledge is power and that education is key to unlocking the potential of Black youth. As such, I have made it a priority to provide educational resources and opportunities through the Black Dot Cultural Center and Bookstore. The center offers a wide range of books, seminars, workshops, and other resources designed to empower and educate the Black community. Through the connections and interactions that have been created in Black Dot Cultural Center, I have had the blessing of helping countless people improve their knowledge of self, life skills, business & educational opportunities.
As part of its growth, the Black Dot Cultural Center and Bookstore added a coffee bar in 2020, serving high-quality coffee beans from around the African world. The coffee bar has become a favorite spot among visitors, offering a cozy and welcoming atmosphere to enjoy a cup of coffee, work, and network with like-minded people seeking to grow the community. It was important to me that Black Dot Cultural Center became a safe space for Black people to grow, learn, and simply, just be. The coffee gets people into the door, but the books, the conversation, and the cultural essence of the shop are what ultimately keep them as a part of the growing community.
“One cup, one book, one mind at a time.” – Black Dot Cultural Center
Now, the center is taking it a step further by launching its own line of whole and ground coffee beans, named Granite City Coffee. This new venture will not only offer a delicious product to customers but will also provide an opportunity to support the center’s mission of community empowerment and education.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
As a young boy, I was labeled a juvenile delinquent, beginning at the age of 13. From 13 to 18 years of age, I spent most of my time between boy’s homes and juvenile detention centers. I got kicked out of public school in the 10th grade and was sent very Shepard House for Boys in Plainfield, N.J. In 1978, I took and passed my GED the same year I would have graduated High School. In 1979, I joined the Army as a Medical Specialist. This took me out of the streets and helped instill discipline. Somewhere around 1989, I was introduced to African history and culture prior to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. That gave me a newfound appreciation of my ancestors’ legacy. This newfound knowledge married with the social and political awareness gifted to me by my mother. Something was stirring in my spirit, but it would take almost 25 years for it to take shape.
During a phone conversation with my friend’s mother in 2013, we discussed the various insights I had gained from studying African history. At the end of our conversation, she asked me a very profound question, “What are you going to do about it, Brother?” As I reflected on everything I had learned in my life, her simple words resonated deeply within me. She had given me, my call to action. It was my responsibility to spur change in my community by promoting a message of black positivity. The Spirit took form.
In 2014, I truly began to move in my purpose. My first actions were creating a T-Shirt brand that promoted black self-love and unity, followed by my book, titled “Think Black…It’s Okay, The Manifesto.” I was also learning about the process of naming newborns in some African tribes, and the ability of our ancestors to identify the potential traits and characteristics of a child fascinated me. For me, the act of adopting an African name ultimately represented an opportunity for rebirth and renewal. I sought the assistance of respected elder Baba Mwalimu Baruti to perform an African Naming Ceremony and provide me with my own name. I was blessed with a new name: Adigun Kazemde Ajamu, Adigun – “righteous” (Yoruba – Nigeria), Kazemde – “ambassador” (Yao – Malawi), Ajamu – “he fights for what he wants” (Yoruba – Nigeria).
I was amazed by the level of accuracy with which Baba Baruti had captured my personal qualities. The names Kazemde and Ajamu really captured my essence. It was Adigun (Righteous) that was going to be my challenge. I had to grow into being righteous in everything that I do. This was life-changing for me. More importantly, what it did for me was restore the love lens through which I see the world. This keeps me grounded and focused on my true nature, how I go about engaging people, and also doing the work necessary to uplift my community.
In 2017, my journey culminated in opening The Black Dot Cultural Center and Bookstore with a vision that all people in the community have access to resources for strengthening themselves, their families, and their communities. At the same time, I was opening my doors the number of independent black-owned bookstores had reached its all-time low of around 75. In addition, most if not all of these stores were located within major cities. I found that there is a real need for bookstores in our communities located outside the city limits. Smaller communities are less likely to have educational resources available to them without driving or commuting into the city. They also have a greater need to access culturally relevant reading material because people tend to focus their attention and resources on the inner cities. I knew just selling books alone would be problematic. So having a cultural center and adding coffee would be the draw and introduction to the reading material. I was told many times that what I was attempting to do was suicidal; opening my cultural center would be much more profitable if I opened it in the city of Atlanta. I refused to believe that, and I am proud to say that 6 years later I am still in Lithonia, GA with a population of just under 3000 residents!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was thinking and operating my business as an employee rather than as an entrepreneur. When I opened The Black Dot Cultural Center and Bookstore in 2017, I was thrilled to be a business owner. I worked tirelessly, putting in 10 to 14 hours a day, six days a week. However, after the second year, I hit a wall. My creativity waned, opportunities slipped through the cracks, and sales declined without a clear reason. Then, in February 2020, just before Covid-19 brought everything to a halt in Georgia, I found myself five months behind in rent, facing the imminent closure of my business.
Desperate and unsure of what to do, I reached out to my landlord, explaining my situation and requesting an extension until mid-March to either come up with the rent or vacate the premises. To my surprise, my landlord offered me a lifeline. He proposed that I pay him one month’s rent each week for the next five weeks to allow me to stay. This arrangement was daunting, as I hadn’t been able to generate one month’s rent in a month, let alone in a single week. However, I accepted the offer and committed to fulfilling the payment plan.
During this critical period, a friend recommended a book to me: “E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” by Michael E. Gerber. Reading this book forced me to confront and unlearn several misconceptions and flawed practices. I realized that I had been approaching my business as if I were an employee, not an entrepreneur. I had erroneously believed that I couldn’t afford to hire employees and tried to handle everything on my own.
The book taught me that I couldn’t afford not to hire help. By bringing someone on board to work in the store, I freed up valuable time to capitalize on opportunities, develop engaging programs and events, and attract more customers. I shifted my mindset from constantly hustling, as I did during my Pop-Up days, to adopting a different perspective as a true business owner. This shift in mindset, combined with proven practices outlined in the book, propelled my business forward. Today, I have additional employees and a manager, allowing me to further expand and flourish.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I have encountered numerous obstacles throughout my life, and I would be happy to share a story that illustrates my resilience. One experience that stands out prominently is from my youth when I was a young Black juvenile delinquent boy facing challenges in my community in New Jersey.
At one point, the community I lived in organized a petition to pressure my mother into moving. My family couldn’t understand the reasons behind my rebellious behavior. Despite growing up in a single-parent household, where my mother worked full-time and emphasized the importance of discipline and education, I was determined to do things my own way. There were few individuals who believed in my potential to turn my life around besides my mother.
However, I never lost confidence in myself. I knew deep down that I would eventually achieve something significant. Every time I faced setbacks or got knocked down, I would pick myself up and forge ahead. During my time at a boys’ home in Plainfield, New Jersey, I enrolled in the Plainfield Adult Learning Center to prepare for my GED exam. Surprisingly, I completed the preparation course in less than a month and felt ready to take the test.
However, my counselor at the home for boys had doubts about my commitment to studying outside of class. He called my mother and suggested that I shouldn’t be allowed to take the test. In response, my mother asked the counselor if I believed I was prepared, to which he replied that I did, but he didn’t share the same confidence. In a powerful display of faith and trust in me, my mother insisted that if I believed I was ready, I should be allowed to take the test.
Despite the counselor’s reservations, I took the test and successfully passed. This experience became a defining moment in my life. It exemplifies my unwavering determination and refusal to be counted out when I set my mind to something.
This story encapsulates the essence of my journey. Regardless of the challenges I faced, I demonstrated resilience and an unshakable belief in my abilities. When I am determined to achieve a goal, it is an unwritten rule not to underestimate me.
None of my success would be possible without the support of my wife Robin Blount. This year we will be together 25 years. She’s been through all of my trials and tribulations and remained steadfast throughout it all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://blackdotcc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackdotcc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackdotccbookstore/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dlblount/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BLACKDOTCC1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@blackdotcc3985