The Frederick Douglass Book Center served as a bookshop and meeting place for the minorities of New York City.  The center contained literature that specialized in African, Afro-American, and Caribbean history and culture. The center remained in Harlem until it was torn down in 1968.^[1]

The Frederick Douglass Book Center was founded by Richard B. Moore in 1942.^[2]  Richard B. Moore was a Caribbean activist and businessman who stood for socialism and black nationalism.^[1]  The Frederick Douglass Center was launched with help from friend and second wife Lodie Biggs.^[3]  Biggs later went on to become the sales representative of the Center.^[4]

Richard  B Moore opened the  Frederick Douglass Book Center in 1942 on West 125th Street in Harlem, New York.^[2]  Moore originally attempted to follow the example of George Young, the man who created the first Afro-American book shop in Harlem.^[2][4] The initial stock of the center was part of Mr. Moore's own private collection.^[4]  Most of the books that were located in the center, however, were not for sale. In fact, the Frederick Douglass Book Center was not considered a "store at all".^[2]  The Center grew into a meeting place of Caribbean activists around the state.^[2] These activists shared progressive or socialist political views. They also supported the  advancement of the Caribbean economy and independence.^[2] These activists included Dr. C. A. Petioni of Trinidad; historian J. A. Rodgers, A. M. Wendell Malliet, W. A. Domingo,  and Miss Vivienne Packer of Jamaica; Reginald Pierrepointe, Bishop Reginald G. Barrow and Lionel M. Yard of Barbados; Atty. Hope R. Stevens of Nevis; Dr Gerald A. Spencer of St. Lucia; Arthur E. King of Guyana; and Hodge Kirnon of Montserrat.^[2]

The center was taken down by the state of New York in 1968 for the construction of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building.^[4]