Young Detroiter transforms westside building into a community bookstore
Jerjuan Howard’s love for his community shines bright. The 26-year-old Detroit westsider is transforming a long-abandoned building on Puritan Avenue into the Howard Family Bookstore — a space he envisions as a hub for books, coffee, and connection, grounded in literacy, local history, and empowerment. Just blocks from his middle school and childhood home, which his grandparents purchased in 1939, the bookstore is Howard’s latest commitment to revitalizing his neighborhood — but far from his first.