This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 6, 2009 - The life of Marcus Watson, who died March 2 at the ago of 39, will be celebrated in a traditional African ceremony on Monday, March 9. Mr. Watson owned Ujamaa Maktaba, an African-centered bookstore that has served as a gathering place in the Tower Grove neighborhood for almost 16 years.
In an interview with The Commonspace in 2002, Mr. Watson noted that he did not have a business plan when he chose to open the bookstore. "The spirit of the ancestors was so strong, it just hit me and wouldn't let go," he said.
He opened Ujamaa Maktaba, which means cooperative economics, at the corner of Manchester and Tower Grove Avenues in April 1993 in a building that had previously housed a 905 liquor store. The now up-and-coming neighborhood was then in severe decline. It was a move borne of financial necessity at the time, but Mr. Watson embraced the opportunity.
"Marcus was fearless," said Olokuntogun "Thabiti" Ojedele, a frequent visitor to the bookstore who became a close friend. "He played a role in rebuilding the neighborhood.
"In Ujamaa Maktaba, he found a place of accountability for himself. Everything he did came back to how the community could prosper. He lifted people's spirits."
He also challenged people's visions and dreams. "Black people are afraid of success, because we are used to failure," Mr. Watson would boldly, but quietly declare. He would then prod people with the question, "What is your 'therefore'?" He asked that to help people connect their desires to their actions, as in, "Now brothers, after all of this, what are we going to do?"
The Gathering
Ujamaa Maktaba became a community meeting place, especially for African-American men. And no subject was off limits.
"We would just show up for 'the gathering' and have informed, analytical and intentional discussions," said the Rev. Ken McKoy, the director for Social Action, AME Zion Church in Missouri, and the founder and executive director of MOSES. The two met in the late '90s when McKoy was executive director of ACORN and its offices were located across the street from the bookstore. "We had conversations about politics, religion, the responsibility of family, everything.
"Marcus' death was the worst news I've gotten since I lost my biological brother in 2002," said McKoy, who will deliver Mr. Watson's eulogy. "When you lose someone who has spoken directly to your life, it's difficult to let go. He and I would spend hours solving the world's problems. Marcus was an insightful, well-read and balanced brother. He was one of the best human beings I've ever known."
The community has also let it be known that Mr. Watson will be missed.
The Bookstore
Flowers and fresh fruits are banked around the front door of the bookstore. The phone rings incessantly. A steady stream of people who live or work in the neighborhood flowed through the store all week. All offered their condolences and most purchased something. Stacey Watson, Mr. Watson's sister, hugged and greeted everyone who came in by name. (Her brother would have greeted each as "Brother" or "Sister".)
Customers find the store as it has always been: Mr. Watson's favorite jazz or neo-soul playing softly, walls covered in African-American artwork, easy chairs next to displays of incense and scented oils and creams, all amid neat shelves of books that teach, uplift and inspire. The collection includes a book published in 2004 about the store gatherings: Conversations at Ujamaa: Essays of Politics, Classism and Black Nationalism, written by Carlton McGee, a frequent visitor to the bookstore.
Watson said that she kept the bookstore open while making arrangements because that's what her brother would have wanted. "Keeping that door open was the best thing I could do. Brothers have been coming by asking if I need any help," Watson said.
She said that she plans to keep the store open despite the fact that she has another job.
"Right now we are going to keep books on the shelves, the lights on and the bills paid. It would be a smack in my brother's face to close the doors. I've been here 14 of the 16 years he's been open. I'm his sister, but I've been his first lady," Watson said with a laugh.
His Background
Mr. Watson, a St. Louis native, graduated from Cleveland Junior Naval Academy. At the time of his "spiritual awakening" that led to his opening the bookstore, he was a student at Fontbonne University majoring in accounting. Mr. Watson had previously worked at a bank, the U.S. Postal Service and, in a prelude to Ujamaa Maktaba, had sold merchandise (things that were later included in the store's inventory) at expos throughout Missouri.
"His decision for transformation was precise, poetic and powerful," Rev. McKoy said.
Mr. Watson bought a second store from Missouri State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed and operated it for about three years; that store closed about five years ago. He also helped to organize a coalition of Black bookstore owners in Missouri and Illinois - Black Booksellers Association of St. Louis - to share information and to help ensure that people understood the role and value of Black bookstores.
Mr. Watson's mother took pleasure her son's accomplishments.
"I was so proud of Marcus in the way he inspired so many people in such a short time, in such a short life," said Zenobia Watson.
The Services
Mr. Watson died following a seizure at his home above the bookstore on March 2. In addition to his sister and his mother, Mr. Watson is survived by his father, James Watson; his brother and sister-in-law, Corey and Yulanda Waston; his brother, James Watson Jr.; his sister, Cheyan Metcalf; one son, Omari Watson; three nieces, Zenobia, Asia, and Yorie, and one nephew, Corey Jr., all of St. Louis.
The traditional African celebration for Mr. Watson will be marked by libations and a sacred drummer. The celebration will be at 1 p.m. on Monday, March 9, at Ronald L. Jones Funeral Chapels, 2161 E. Fair Ave. in St. Louis, 63107.
In lieu of flowers, a visit to Ujamaa Maktaba would be appreciated.
Mr. Watson's ashes will be spread from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Ghana, West Africa, a symbolic return to the home African-Americans left as slaves centuries ago.
Gloria Ross is the head of Okara Communications and the storywriter for AfterWords, an obituary-writing and production service.