Our Story

“Tell no lies claim no easy victories”
Amilcar Cabral

A Bit About Us

Pan-African Connection Bookstore, Art Gallery and Resource Center was established in 2000 to fill a void: to bring a real high-quality Rare Bookstore to the Dallas area. Our passion for excellence is what drove us from the beginning and it still drives us now. In fact, it’s what makes us tick.

Many times, it’s the most ordinary products that make the biggest impact on our daily lives. At Pan-African Connection Bookstore, Art Gallery and Resource Center, we believe that by offering the best of the best in even the simplest products, we can make a big difference in the lives of our customers.

So, what are you waiting for? Come visit us at 4466 South Marsalis Avenue, Dallas, email us, or pick up the phone and give us a call! We look forward to meeting you.

Our Team

Get To Know Us

What really makes Pan-African Connection Bookstore, Art Gallery and Resource Center great are our awesome team members who do such great work. Meet the people who are standing behind the counter or working behind the scenes to make your shopping experience rock. We’re dedicated to offering superior customer service and to having fun while we’re doing it.

Akwete Tyehimba

CEO

Pan African Connection opened in 1989 and became a beacon for African culture in Dallas. Founder Bandele Tyehimba worked for Boeing at night while running the bookstore during the day until he could quit his job. The shop, which also carries African art, clothing and jewelry, was on Jefferson Boulevard for 21 years before moving to South Dallas for a few years. Now they’re back in Oak Cliff, in the Glendale Shopping Center on Marsalis at Ann Arbor. Bandele Tyehimba died at age 58 in 2012. His wife, Akwete, stepped up to keep the dream alive, and she says she could never close the store. “It was his vision,” Akwete Tyehimba says. “If it weren’t for him, I doubt very seriously I would even be here today. It was to create an institution where people could learn about their history. To bring people closer to Africa.”

Tyehimba is from Waco, and she says she was “very status quo” with “Farrah Fawcett hair” when she met her husband at a Black Student Organization meeting at Northlake College, where he was passing out “revolutionary-type literature.” “We say we’re born in America, but Africa is our home.”

Adjwoa Tyehimba

CFO

Hey Y’all! Yes, I’m country lol. I’m Adjwoa, if you think that’s hard to pronounce feel free to call me “Adgy”. I’m the co-owner of Pan-African Connection Bookstore & Resource Center located in Dallas, Oak Cliff. How did I get here? Well my father Bandele Tyehimba started this store 29 years ago. I’ve literally been working here since I could talk & count money. My father introduced me to African culture at a young age, starting with my name, Adjwoa. Adjwoa is from the Akan people of Ghana and means born on Monday, beautiful and intelligent. For the longest I was embarrassed about my name because people couldn’t pronounce it or simply made fun of it because it wasn’t normal. In middle school my father took me on my first trip to Ghana, West Africa. There I met so many women had my name, which helped me with my confidence. Visiting Ghana and immersing in the culture sparked my curiosity to travel and my love for art. While in Africa we would purchase art, clothing, jewelry, and pounds of Shea Butter. As the years went on, I learned the ins & outs of the business. My father showed me the art of negotiating, buying, selling, and the meaning of customer service.

In 2008, I took my talents to The University of Arkansas Pine Bluff to major in Fisheries Biology. Random? I know. College helped mold me into the woman I am today. I met people from different cities, economic backgrounds and races. Working in fisheries gave me a huge appreciation of the environment. While studying for an Ichthyology mid-term my senior year I received a call that my father passed away. This was a wake-up call. I knew that immediately after graduation I needed to return to Dallas and help out with the family business. In 2013, my mom & I managed the bookstore. Things were pretty tough, because we both juggled two jobs. I always thought my dad would pass the business to me once he was ready to retire, not through death. But here I am today 27 and running a bookstore & resource center.