Save the Maa Maat Centre

SAVE THE MAA MAAT CENTRE!

London’s Leading Pan-African Bookshop and Community Space

By Pepukayi and Boukman Academy

The MAA MAAT Centre, located on Tottenham High Road in London, has been a staple of Britain’s pan-African community for decades. Home to some of the greatest and rarest Black studies literature, its walls have seen many brilliant scholars pay a visit to spread their knowledge, such as Julius Malema, Runoko Rashidi, Anthony Browder, Bayyinah Bello, Akala, Llaila Afrika, Queen Afua, and Robin Walker. However, it is in desperate need of your help.

Over the years, the building itself has begun to deteriorate. A lack of support has meant that hiring people to look after the building and the products has proved difficult. Pepukayi, the founder of the Maa Maat Centre, has done everything he can to prevent the closure of this great community space. He has put in thousands of his own money over decades to ensure that the knowledge remains accessible for everyone. Now, the MAA MAAT Centre is calling upon the community to help keep its doors open.

Where Your Money Will Go

The task at hand is simple but extensive. As a result of many circumstances, with the recent pandemic being a major factor, the Centre has lost a lot of income. Additionally, the worsening condition of the building has made it difficult for one of the few remaining Black radical spaces in the country to remain open. As such, we now need £70,000 to cover the complete renovation of the Centre in order to ensure it remains a hub of Black intellectual thought.

The £70,000 provided by you will go towards refurbishing the entire interior of the building including:

• Complete renovation of the bookshop
• Clearing and restoring the basement for storage of stock
• Creating two new events spaces for talks, lectures, workshops, book signings and more
• Restoration of the conference room

Once the £70,000 has been raised, an innovative Black radical community space will be available for everyone to attend. Children of all ages will be able to take part in workshops held by multiple education organisations. Adults will be able to hear contemporary pan-African scholars teach. Organisations will be able to use the space as a hub for various tasks.

About Pepukayi

For over 50 years, Baba Pepukayi has been instrumental in the growth of the Black Consciousness Movement in Britain, providing not just books but many spaces for various members of the community to listen, learn and study. Embodying the ethos of “each one teach one”, Pepukayi has dedicated a great amount of his life to the pan-African cause. Far from being merely a provider of books, he has also been heavily involved with many social justice movements and organisations, helping to fight institutional racism in Britain. Now at 71, Pepukayi deserves to past the baton to the next generation. It is up to the rest of us to come together and provide the funds to renovate the Centre.

What You Will Receive as a Donor

All donations, no matter how small, will go towards the building works mentioned above. However, as Pepukayi has made it his mission to spread knowledge, those that donate the following set amounts will have the opportunity to receive a particular book of their choice – some of which aren’t available anywhere else in the U.K! Below is the list of donor amounts and corresponding literature (brackets indicate RRP).

£10: Allows you to choose one of the following children’s books

• Malcolm X for Children by Arnold Adoff (£4.99)
• Knowing About Marcus Mosiah Garvey and the UNIA by Nyela, Sankofa and Afruika (£4.99)
• Who is Nelson Mandela? by Adrian Hadland) (£4.50)
• Kung Fu Trip by Benjamin Zephaniah (£4.99)
• Akimbo and the Lions by Alexander McCall Smith (£3.99)
• Boyz to Men by Yinka Adebayo (£4.99)
• Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman (£3.99)
• Journey to Jo’Burg by Beverley Naidoo (£4.99)
• Tickle Tickle by Dakari Hru and Ken Wilson-Max (£4.99)
• Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number by Yinka Ayo (£3.99)

£20: Allows you to choose one of the following books

• Singin’ & Swingin’ & Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas by Maya Angelou (£7.99)
• Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart by Alice Walker (£8.99)
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (£11.99)
• Sula by Toni Morrison (£10.99)
• Cooking the Caribbean Way by Cheryl Davidson Kaufman (£11.99)
• A Song Flung Up to Heaven by Maya Angelou (£6.99)
• Someone Knows My Name aka The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (£12.99)
• So Much Things to Say: the Biography of Bob Marley by Don Taylor (£14.99)
• Anatomy of Female Power by Chinweizu (£13.99)
• Demystifying Cancer by Devon S J Morgan (£10)
• Songs of Enchantment by Ben Okri (£9.99)
• Sweet Sweetback’s Badassssss Song by Melvin Van Peebles (£11.99)
• My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola (£6.99)
• Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkins (£11.99)
• Africa in History by Basil Davidson (£12.99)

£50: Allows you to choose one of the following books

• Seize the Time by Bobby Seale (£16.99)
• Garvey and Garveyism by Amy Jacques Garvey (£22.99)
• Malcolm X Speeches at Harvard (£16.99)
• Black on Black Violence by Amos Wilson (£18.99)
• The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness by Amos Wilson (£14.99)
• African Holistic Health by Llaila O. Afrika (£17.99)
• Overcoming an Angry Vagina by Queen Afua (£17.99)
• Tapping the Power Within Hardback by Iyanla Vanzant (£17.99)
• Visions of a Liberated Future: Black Arts Movement Writing by Larry Neal w/ Amiri Baraka and others (£24.99)
• Up From Slavery Hardback by Booker T. Washington (£22.99)
• In the Spirit: the Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor of Essence Magazine (£24.99)
• The Power of Black Music by Samuel A. Floyd, jr. (£24.99)
• Race, Religion, and the Continuing American Dilemma by C. Eric Lincoln (£15.99)
• Man Sharing: Dilemma or Choice by Audrey B. Chapman (£21.99) (£47 on Amazon)
• Food and Identity in the Caribbean by Hanna Garth (£24.99)
• Stroud’s Slave Laws (US Slave History) by George M. Stroud (£16.99)
• Why, Lord? By Anthony B. Pinn (£24.99)
• Black Foremothers by Dorothy Sterling (£14.99)
• Soul: Black Power, Politics and Pleasure (£24.99)

£100: Allows you to choose one of the following books

• The West and the Rest of Us by Chinweizu (£39.99) (£164 on Amazon)
• Decolonising the African Mind by Chinweizu (£34.99) (£92 on Amazon)
• Of Water and the Spirit Hardback by Malidoma Patrice Somé (£45.99)
• African Origins of Major Western Religions by Yosef Ben-Jochannan (£26.99)
• Revolution of Conscience by Greg Moses (£27.99) (£184 on Amazon)
• Egyptian Book of the Dead Hardback and Illustrated, translated by E. A. Wallis Budge (£34.99)
• Company of Prophets by Joyce Elaine Noll (£34.99) (£155 on Amazon)
• Black Man Emerging by Joseph L. White and James H. Cones III (£34.99)

In order to receive a copy of the book of your choice, please make your donation, then contact us via GoFundMe with your details and choice accompanied with the shipping address.

What Else You Can Do

As the MAA MAAT Centre is a community space that houses a bookshop, the easiest way to help in the renovating process is by simply buying books. These can be for yourself or family/friends, or as a donation to other organisations or schools at home and abroad.

Additionally, if you have a specific skill and would like to provide your services to the renovation of the building, please do not hesitate to contact us via GoFundMe.

If you would like to volunteer with any sort of help, just let us know via GoFundMe and we can arrange it.

Future Plans

As well as having a completely refurbished bookshop and community space, there are many other prospective plans for the near future. These include:

• The development of a pan-African library system where Black radical literature can be accessed by all for a minuscule price.
• The development of a pan-African library in Liberia, one of the first on the continent. Books will be provided and shipped by the Centre, which will contribute to establishing a free learning centre in West Africa. If you would like your donation/purchase of a book to go towards the library in Liberia, let us know via GoFundMe with your receipt and book choice attached
• Bi-monthly teaching sessions hosted by Boukman Academy for all age ranges and levels of experience.
• A range of community activities such as workshops and classes provided by the Centre
• A space for hire that the community can use for a number of activities

Thank you for your support. We close with the words of the great warrior Assata Shakur; “We must love and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains!”

Pepukayi, founder of the MAA MAAT Centre

Tyrone Smith, founder of Boukman Academy

Boukman Academy is the only free pan-African online school, providing a complete curriculum of Black history, political science, liberation philosophy, psychology, sociology and culture. You can find out more about us on our website: www.boukmanacademy.com. You can also find us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Patreon.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-maa-maat-centre?qid=b5706e70d2951c62c5d930aa52145956