How two sisters in Fort Worth turned a passion for books into a haven for healing

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It all started when the Craddock sisters, Donya and Donna, discovered a story about their great grandparents. They were slaves owned by the Marmaduke family in the late 1800s. They lived in the Governor’s mansion in Marshall, Texas — then home to the Missouri state government in exile..

Above the slave quarters was a library full of books, except their great ancestors had no chance of reading them. They could only dust the covers. Anti-literacy laws were established for slaves at the time so getting caught with a book was considered a crime.

“Our ancestors were living under a library (with books they could not read) and now we own a bookstore. We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams,” Donna told the Star-Telegram.

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Their bookstore was where many in Texas found comfort through Black literature shortly after the shooting death of Michael Brown, a Black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, ignited fiery riots and the demand for answers ran hot. The Craddock’s bookstore, The Dock Bookshop at 6637 Meadowbrook Dr. in east Fort Worth, is one of the largest full-service Black-owned bookstores in Texas and the Southwest. Adding to the shop’s allure is its draw of celebrity authors such as Deion Sanders, Omar Epps, and Cornel West.

So out of all the places the sisters could have built their literary empire, why Fort Worth?

“There was a book desert for Black literature,” according to the sisters.

From Nebraska to Texas: Sisters labor in love of books

A new job in mortgage banking sent Donya Craddock to North Texas in 1997. She packed her love of reading with her. On the side, she began selling real estate books at local trade shows.

Recognizing she needed help in getting settled in a new town, Donya convinced her sister Donna to relocate to Fort Worth with her. Their reunion led to a routine of visiting local bookstores to bond and find new literature. It was a happy time.

Then something changed.

“The bookstores we went to, Black Bookworm and Black Images, closed so there were no (Black) bookstores in Fort Worth,” said Donya. “We love libraries but you couldn’t find books like ‘Destruction of A Black Civilization’ there. Bookstores had a more curated selection.”

The sisters felt they had to do something. They came up with a plan. They pooled their life savings and opened The Dock in 2008, even as financial institutions cratered ushering in the Great Recession. That year racial tensions flared as America inaugurated its first Black president in Barack Obama.

Shortly after the bookshop opened their mother, Deborah Gregory, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was also widowed so they persuaded her to relocate to Fort Worth to be closer to her daughters. But also so the sisters could take care of their mom. Gregory began helping out with the bookstore, keeping an eye on the store and giving the decor her creative vision. The sisters call their mom’s contribution as enhancing “The Dock Experience.”

Enduring racial animus: ’We were right here in the middle of it all’

The timing of their nascent venture was not exactly idyllic.

“We had BB gun bullets shot at our door, feces put in front of it, and one time we were standing outside as a truck drove up and a man got out, spit in front of us, then drove off,” the sisters recalled. “We were building up knowledge of self, history, and culture so people get nervous whenever Black folks start building themselves up.”

It was a rough time to start their business. The sisters felt the resistance to their store — from racial asides to the lingering hangover of an economic malaise. Despite it all the sisters persevered. Their shop was becoming a safe harbor for many Black North Texans as racial animus roiled the nation shortly after the deaths of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, and Fort Worth’s own Atatiana Jefferson.

“They came here to share their concerns and just cry,” Donya said.

Eventually people from all over flocked to the store as racial injustice movements grew in size and volume across America.

“Every time it was a major national tragedy we had town halls and forums, it almost became a way for people to release and deal with the hurt and pain,” Donya said. “Books speak about all of these movements and we were right here in the middle of it all.”

Be ‘edutained’ at this Fort Worth shop of books, conversations

As patrons walk through the glass double doors of the store in Meadowbrook Crossing, they step into a room with high ceilings festooned with faces of historical figures many can recognize. To one side of the 4,000-square-foot room are neat rows of shelves full of books on Western history, graphic novels, children’s topics and even self help volumes.

In the back is an open space for a stage for poetry readings and gatherings. Cushioned chairs in neat lines sit in front like an attentive audience. Patrons can also buy paintings, pottery, and other cultural trinkets.

“A lot of our ancestors wrote books and did serious work so we want to lift their voices up to make sure they’re always heard,” Donna said.

On open mic nights and town halls, the conversations easily rise in laughter or fall to serious banter — exactly how the sisters want it.

No topic is taboo. Lately, as groups intent on banning books grow in strength across the nation, the sisters wish for meaningful discussions. If not to stem its spread, at least to educate folks in its history.

“Book banning has been happening since ‘Uncle Toms Cabin,’ its becoming more of an issue now because they have groups who are really trying to hinder the education of history,” Donya said. “American history is not pretty and they don’t want their kids to see what happened because it makes them uncomfortable. But books stand the test of time.”

The sisters hope their Fort Worth shop is only the beginning

“We want to be remembered as a bookstore that loved community, culture, and as a space where people can get inspired or as we like to say ‘edutained’,” Donna said.