But for many Black Americans, the anniversary has become something else entirely. Rather than celebrating 250 years of freedom, they are asking whether the nation has fully delivered on promises made in 1776 while millions of Africans remained enslaved and generations of their descendants continued to fight for rights guaranteed to others.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has helped drive nearly $2 million in sales to Black-owned bookstores through his best-selling novel, “Worse Than a Lie,” using his national platform to direct readers and attention to independent shops that serve as cultural and economic anchors in communities across the country.