AALBC.com eNewsletter - February 25th 2011 - Issue #184


Last Updated: Thursday, December 14, 2017

AALBC.com eNewsletter - February 25th 2011 - Issue #184

AALBC.com eNewsletter - February 25th 2011 - Issue #184
Celebrating Our Literary Legacy Since 1997
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AALBC.com Best Selling Books
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AALBC.com’s 25 Best Selling Books For 2010
http://aalbc.com/books/2010_by_month.htm

Fiction

#1 - For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
#2 - Getting to Happy by Terry McMillan
#3 - Total Eclipse of the Heart by Zane
#4 - Thug Matrimony by Wahida Clark
#5 - Thug Lovin’ by Wahida Clark
#6 - Missionary No More: Purple Panties 2 Zane (Editor)
#7 - Purple Panties: An Eroticanoir.com Anthology Zane (Editor)

Non-fiction

#1 - Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans
#2 - The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors by Dr. Frances Cress Welsing
#3 - The Vixen Manual: How to Find, Seduce & Keep the Man You Want by Karrine Steffans
#4 - Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority by Tom Burrell
#5 - The Vixen Diaries by Karrine Steffans
#6 - The Mis-Education of the Negro by Dr. Carter G. Woodson
#7 - Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny by Hill Harper


AALBC.com’s 25 Bestselling Books for 2010 November 1st through December 31st 2010
http://aalbc.com/books/novdec2010.htm

AALBC.com’s 25 Bestselling eBooks for 2010 (New)
http://aalbc.com/books/best_selling_ebooks_2010.html
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Authors You Should Know
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Cheryl Wills
http://aalbc.com/authors/cheryl_wills.html

Wills is an award-winning anchor and reporter for Time Warner Cable’s flagship news network, New York 1 News, based in New York City. She has been with the news channel since its launch in 1992 and the journalist is also the author of Die Free: A Heroic Family History (www.diefreethebook.com) which traces her great-great-great grandfather Sandy Wills courageous service in the Civil War as a member of the United States Colored Troops. Wills is also a popular and engaging public speaker and has appeared before audiences across the country. Cheryl is also a blogger for the internationally renowned The Huffington Post.

Also check out Cheryl’s touching story about her grandmother’s perspective on skin color.

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Tony Lindsay
http://aalbc.com/authors/tony_lindsay.html

Lindsay is the author of several novels including; One Dead Preacher, Street Possession, Chasin’ It, Urban Affair, and One Dead Lawyer, and a short story collection titled Pieces of the Hole. He has published book critiques and reviews for Black Issue’s Book Review. He was a contributor to the anthology Don’t Hate the Game, the on-line encyclopedia Identity.com, and Mosiac.com. He has been published by to the African American literary web-site ‘Timbooktu.com’, as well as the young adult magazine Cicada. He has a MFA from Chicago State University.

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Stephanie CasherStephanie Casher
http://aalbc.com/authors/stephaniecasher.html

Casher is an author of multicultural women’s fiction, freelance editor, and co-owner of The Pantheon Collective (TPC). She has a BA in Sociology with a Minor in Education from UC Santa Cruz, and won the Dean’s Undergraduate Award for her Senior Honors Thesis “Negotiating Identity and Cultural Capital: The Social and Structural Factors Affecting the Educational Attainment of Bi-Racial Men of African-American Descent.” She is in the process of completing the Professional Sequence in Editing through UC Berkeley Extension.

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EndyEndy

http://aalbc.com/authors/endy.htm

Endy was born in Newark, NJ. Like most inner city children she was fascinated by the noise of the busy streets in the "hood". Raised in a two parent home with her younger brother, her parents knew the harsh reality of living in the city. With her mother being robbed several times at gun point while operating the clothing store they owned, her father carted his family away to the suburbs of Linden, NJ. Endy’s father wanted to give his family a better home and a solid foundation. Little did he know his daughter would be drawn back to the streets in which she was born.

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Annette Gordon-ReedAnnette Gordon-Reed
http://aalbc.com/authors/annette.html

Gordon-Reed is a professor of law at New York Law School and a professor of history at Rutgers University. She is the author of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy. She lives in New York City.

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James W. LewisJames W. Lewis
http://aalbc.com/authors/james_w_lewis.html

Lewis was born on an Army base in Wurzburg, Germany in 1971, but grew up in a small city called Hopewell, Virginia. As a shy kid, he shared a strong love for sports and reading. He spent a lot of time in the summer either riding his BMX bike imitating Evil Knevil on the dirt hills of local parks or holed up in the Hopewell library, lost in the wondrous world of books. It was hours in the library that developed a love for reading and writing short stories.

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George C. FaserGeorge C. Fraser
http://aalbc.com/authors/george_fraser.html

Fraser is Chairman & CEO of FraserNet, Inc. He is considered by many to be the new voice for African Americans and one of the foremost authorities on networking and building effective relationships. Mr. Fraser is the author of two books: Success Runs In Our Race; The Complete Guide to Effective Networking in the African American Community (a critically acclaimed bestseller) and Race For Success; The Ten Best Business Opportunities for Blacks In America (selected as one of ten best business books of the year by Booklist). Both were published by the William Morrow Company.

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Louise MeriwetherLouise Meriwether
http://aalbc.com/authors/louise_meriwether.html

Meriwether is a short fiction writer, essayist, novelist, writer of children’s literature, and black activist. Louise Meriwether holds an established place among literati whose writings reassess African Americans’ past. Her fiction treats bygone times to revise American history and to record African Americans’ tremendous achievements despite overwhelming odds

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Dwayne McDuffieDwayne McDuffie
http://aalbc.com/authors/dwayne_mcduffie.htm

McDuffie is best known as the co-founder and creator of Milestone Media. He is a Story Editor on the KIDS WB’s Emmy Award-winning animated series STATIC SHOCK, which he co-created. He is also a Producer and Story Editor on Cartoon Network’s JUSTICE LEAGUE. He is Editor-In-Chief of Milestone Media’s award-winning line of comic books, managing an editorial operation which boasted the best on-time delivery record in the industry for nearly four years running and has also worked as an editor for Marvel Comics and Harvey Entertainment.

Tragically McDuffie pasted this February, just after his 49th birthday.
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AALBC.com Book Reviews (Fiction)
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Friends 2 loversFriends 2 Lovers by Jonathan Anthony Burkett
http://aalbc.com/reviews/friends_2_lovers.html

Who doesn’t remember their first love? And what about the girl next door? Or how about the boy you cared for in school only to end up in the friend zone? In Jonathan Anthony Burkett’s new novel, he attempts to capture that feeling young people get when the bonds of friendship mature into something stronger.

Friends 2 Lovers is the story of high school best friends Claude and Kelly that spans over a two and a half year timeframe. Though they have been best friends for many years, everyone from their friends, family, and the protagonists themselves know that they are destined to be together. After all, the best romantic relationships start off as friendships anyway, right? Even Kelly’s mother loves Claude like a son. However, it’s the actions that transpire with Claude’s family that could threaten this relationship and even his life.

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Am I not a man?Am I Not a Man? by Mark L. Shurtleff
http://aalbc.com/reviews/am_i_not_a_man.htm

What a curious book to be written by Mark L. Shurtleff, Utah’s Attorney General!

This well-researched historical novel, Am I Not A Man?, goes into the mind of Dred Scott, an illiterate slave who endured the agony of bondage and all of its cruelty from his early days in Virginia until his classic legal battles to over-turn the restrictive laws of slavery. Shurtleff, a white author, never lets us forget these black men and women were human beings. He shows the reader that Dred and his wife, Harriet, were loving, caring people. He takes us into their minds and hearts and trusts us with their unrelenting humanity.

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walking among the kudzuWalking Among the Kudzu by H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson
http://aalbc.com/reviews/walking_among_the_kudzu.html

Walking Among the Kudzu is a page turner that will remind you of books such as The Darkest Child, Push, and even The Color Purple. Readers who know a thing or two about the Civil Rights Era will enjoy this nostalgic tale. And those who enjoy a good story will have something to smile about as well. The characters from all walks of life feel like people you may know. Atkerson’s natural writing skills will have you wondering how much of this novel comes from actual events. Though the ending is a bit mushy and predictable, and you might wish for more dialogue versus the first-person narration, it is still a very enjoyable story of hope, love, and redemption. You should definitely pick this one up.

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No SurrenderNo Surrender By Ai
http://aalbc.com/reviews/no_surrender.html

When news reached me about the death of renowned poetess, Ai, I knew that I must write something about her and her unwavering lyrical examination of the human condition in America. Her last collection, No Surrender, was released in the fall and it is an occasion to pay her tribute.

Ai was always a fierce and uncompromising voice. The author of seven memorable books of poetry, she earned the American Book Award for Sin in 1987 and a National Book Award for Vice in 1999. As the Mitte Chair in Creative Writing at Southwest Texas State University from 2002 -2003, she earned a United States Artist Ford Fellowship in 2009.
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AALBC.com Book Reviews (Non-Fiction)
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True YouTrue You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself by Janet Jackson
http://aalbc.com/reviews/true_you.html

Whenever I’ve interviewed Janet Jackson, I’ve always had the sense that I was speaking with a very grounded individual for someone who was born inside the bubble of celebrity and has lived her whole life in the limelight. Thus, I am not surprised to discover that she would seem as real and equally accessible in her autobiography.

Janet co-wrote True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself with ghostwriter to the stars David Ritz, who has also penned memoirs with Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Aretha, Etta James, B.B. King, Smokey Robinson, Natalie Cole, Grandmaster Flash, Billie Holiday, The Neville Brothers and The Wire’s Felicia "Snoop" Pearson. The prolific Ritz credits his uncanny knack for the genre with an ability to become one with his subjects by "absorbing himself into the artist’s very heart and soul."

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Black Business SecretsBlack Business Secrets: 500 Tips, Strategies, and Resources for the African-American Entrepreneur by Dante Lee
http://aalbc.com/reviews/black_business_secrets_500_tips.html

During these dire economic times when the overall unemployment rate in the U.S. is at 9.8 %, you can be sure that that figure is at least double in the African-American community. And after the Democrats took what President Obama referred to as a “shellacking” on Election Day, they appear prepared to capitulate to the Republican demand that the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy be extended.

If you’re presently out of work, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for the supposedly-stimulative effect of that windfall for the rich to trickle-down to you in the form of a job. Instead, may I suggest perusing a copy of Black Business Secrets: 500 Tips, Strategies, and Resources for the African-American Entrepreneur.

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BrainwashedBrainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority by Tom Burrell
http://aalbc.com/reviews/brainwashed.html

Ever since the dawn of the nation when the Founding Fathers deliberately rationalized slavery by spreading the big lie that black people were inferior, African-Americans have suffered from serious self-esteem issues. But why has this phenomenon continued to persist so long past emancipation and the elimination of the Jim Crow system of segregation?

This is the nagging thought which inspired Tom Burrell to write Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority. After all, as an advertising executive with 45 years in the business, he is well aware of the power of propaganda. So he knows that American society has done such a good job on the minds of blacks that they have not only internalized but have willingly participated in the perpetuation and further dissemination of nearly every negative stereotype propagated about them by the media.

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African RhytmsAfrican Rhytms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston Composed by Randy Weston
http://aalbc.com/reviews/african_rhytms.html

True jazz buffs will welcome this well-detailed, informative memoir, African Rhythms, by one of the most innovative musicians in America, Randy Weston, for it pays earnest tribute to the African origins, traditions, and their primary influence on the sounds that rose from Congo Square long ago. It is the finest jazz autobiography since that of the big band maestro Duke Ellington’s glorious remembrances, Music Is My Mistress. “Arranged” by jazz writer-producer Willard Jenkins from a collection of interviews and observations over a four year period, it spans over 60 years of Weston’s personal and creative life.

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I beat the OddsI Beat the Odds: From Homelessness to "The Blind Side" and Beyond by Michael Oher with Don Yaeger
http://aalbc.com/reviews/i_beat_the_odds.html

Michael Oher became famous a year ago when his inspirational story was made into a heartwarming Hollywood movie. That overcoming-the-odds sports saga recounted how a traumatized, black teenager went from homeless to National Football League star with the help of the a well-to-do family who rescued him from the streets of Memphis. Sandra Bullock even won an Oscar for her endearing portrayal of matriarch Leigh Anne Tuohy, a compassionate Christian who altruistically invited the gentle giant to move into her house.

But the film also took some liberties with the facts, such as suggesting that Michael only learned to play football in high school and that he was walking around wearing shorts in the middle of a frigid day in November. Furthermore, because the picture basically began with his rescue, it failed to convey exactly how much of a harrowing nightmare his childhood had been previously, when he and his siblings had been shuttled from foster home to foster home on account of their mother’s crack addiction.

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12 Angry Men12 Angry Men: True Stories of Being a Black Man in America Today Edited by Gregory S. Parks and Matthew W. Hughey
http://aalbc.com/reviews/12_angry_men.html

I could write at length from personal experience about the trauma inflicted on my psyche by the time I was 25 by a decade of being routinely stopped and frisked by police about once a month or so, and always on the flimsiest of pretexts. Back then, the prison industrial complex was undergoing a mammoth growth spurt thanks to the so-called “War on Drugs,” which was really just a rationale for feeding the corporate beast with the bodies of millions of non-violent, black offenders.

And judging by the accounts related in 12 Angry Men: True Stories of Being a Black Man in America Today, the situation hasn’t improved much over the interim. Here, a 35 year-old family man recalls how he was recently strip-searched right in front of his neighbors by NYPD detectives who suspected him of possessing narcotics. When they didn’t find any contraband, they left him to pull up his own pants without as much as an apology
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AALBC.com Videos
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Best Book Trailer of the Year 2010Winner of AALBC.com’s Best Book Trailer of 2010 - Airing Grandma’s Laundry and Other Hush Hush Secrets by Natasha Owens
http://aalbc.com/authors/bestbooktrailer2010.html

Thank you Jesus, Mr. Troy Johnson, Judges, and each book lover who made the book trailer for Airing Grandma’s Laundry and other hush hush family secrets the first place winner. I am confident that once the book is released this Spring 2011 it will also be a best seller!
—Natasha Owens

MAKING OF THE BOOK TRAILER:
First I contacted companies that wanted to charge me outrageous fees because it was a period piece. Once I spoke to my Writing Instructor who also does screen plays he connected me with a camera man Mr. Tommy Riggins. Tommy told me I had what it took to direct it myself. So I wrote the script, searched for my location in my Grandmothers old neighborhood, went to thrift stores and found the clothing, asked my mechanic to drive his car and stopped a man who turned out to be a preacher on the street and asked him to help me out by allowing his car to be in the shoot and we set a date. I enlisted people from the area to be in the trailer along with friends and family including my baby girl in the basket. The music was done by Professor Harrison. My son Chance helped me direct and ensured all props were in place. From start to finish it took us about two hours.

This video will be showcased at the 2011 National Black Book Festival in Houston

Watch the book trailers of the 2010 2nd and 3rd place videos as well as to 2009 winner.

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Don’t Bring Home A White BoyDon’t Bring Home a White Boy
http://bit.ly/nowhiteboys

Publisher Karen Hunter & her author Karyn Langhorne Folan. Talk about Folan’s book, Don’t Bring Home a White Boy: And Other Notions that Keep Black Women From Dating Out. This video was recorded July 31, 2010 during the National Book Club Conference in Atlanta, GA

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It’s All About BooksBook Related Products Company - It’s All About Books
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ynR8BfmM6c

Star Rice talks about her business It’s All About Books. A tee shirt made by this company, "Real Men Read" is one of my favorite tee shirts. This video was recorded July 31, 2010 during the National Book Club Conference in Atlanta, GA

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J. ThurmanJ. Thurman Reveals Important Tips for a Successful Marriage
http://aalbc.com/authors/jthurman.html

As a relationship columnist, Thurman questions the way men and women view relationships. This video was recorded July 31, 2010 during the National Book Club Conference in Atlanta, GA
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AALBC.com Articles
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Tavis SmileyTavis Smiley is no good for Black folks!
http://aalbc.com/blog/?p=293

I freely admit that I was not always a Tavis Smiley fan. When presidential candidate, Barack Obama declined to participate in Smiley’s 2008 State of the Union meeting; Tavis openly criticized Obama. I felt Smiley’s reaction was a mistake; perhaps driven by pettiness or even jealously. My opinion was reinforced earlier this year when an angry Al Sharpton criticized Tavis for misquoting him regarding Obama’s need for a Black agenda.

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Troy Johnson’s FamilyFor Black History Month: Research & Share Your Family History
http://aalbc.com/blog/?p=396

Every February someone asks me,
“What are you going to do for Black History Month?”
As trite as it might sound, I always reply,
“Every month is Black History Month at AALBC.com”

I view the question the same as, what are you gonna do for Mother’s day or Valentine’s day. While I’m sure this is not the person’s intent, the implication is that we need a day to do something special for our mothers or a loved one. Similarly, everyday is Mother’s day and Valentine’s day for me.

Today I decided to contradict myself and do something that was specifically motivated by Black History Month and share a small aspect of my family’s history.
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AALBC.com Film Reviews
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Behind Those BooksBehind Those Books: A Thought Provoking Documentary Tackling Societal Ills Through Literature [press release]
http://aalbc.com/reviews/behind_those_books.html

The first and only comprehensive documentation on film of this controversial genre, gives viewers a raw and uncensored look inside this emerging industry. The film chronicles the evolution of the gritty street tale through interviews with pioneer authors, publishers, industry insiders, fans, activists, hiphop artists, book clubs, editors, literary agents and vendors.

“I am a abandoned child. My mother was a whore. And the things I saw through these eyes, no child should have to witness or experience. So am I wrong for writing about my life that I saw?” —Treasure E. Blue

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Mooz-LumMooz-Lum - Young Muslim Searches for Identity in Coming-of-Age Flick
http://aalbc.com/reviews/moozlum.html

Since 9/11, Muslims have basically become the N-words of the new millennium, being indiscriminately demonized in much the same way young African-Americans were universally vilified by the FBI during the rise of the Black Power Movement. In the wake of the civil unrest triggered by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, simply walking the streets with an afro was all the probable cause a cop needed to stop and frisk anyone who resembled a radical figure like Huey Newton, Stokely Carmichael or H. Rap Brown.

Such state-sanctioned mistreatment inflicted harm unlikely ever to be undone on impressionable young minds trying to figure out their place in the world, since it made the U.S. suddenly feel more like an oppressive police state than the proverbial land of the free and home of the brave. And it is a similar sort of predicament which is sensitively explored in Mooz-Lum, a coming-of-age flick by Qasim “Q” Basir.

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Night Catched UsNight Catches Us - Period Piece about Prodigal Black Panther’s Released on DVD
http://aalbc.com/reviews/night_catches_us.html

Anyone familiar with the history of the Black Panther Party knows that it self-destructed during the Seventies after the FBI strategically created dissension in its ranks via a combination of infiltration, disinformation and assassinations. In fact, by the time of the informant-riddled organization’s collapse, its members were so mistrustful of each other that its leaders were reduced to accusing each other of being government agents.

That feeling of paranoia permeates the air in Night Catches Us, a period piece about the Panthers set in Philadelphia in ‘76. The story revolves around the return to town of one Marcus Washington (Anthony Mackie) to attend the funeral of his father following four years spent in a self-imposed exile.

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Orgasm IncOrgasm, Inc - Scathing Expose’ Uncovers Pharmaceutical Industry Plot to Exploit Female Pleasure
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/orgasm_inc.html

This shocking expose’ was directed by Elizabeth Canner who devoted nine years to chronicling the drug companies’ effort to get the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first to recognize FSD as a medical disorder, and then to approve a class of prescription drugs as female versions of Viagra. With the help of physicians placed on the pharma business payroll, some of whom were reportedly paid as much as $75,000 per day (that’s right, per day), the FDA soon certified the newly-discovered illness as an affliction marked by a woman’s “lack of desire, lack of pleasure and/or painful intercourse.”

That governmental go-ahead triggered a race among biotechs which immediately plunged headlong into a competition to be the first to bring a billion-dollar cure for the supposed malady to market. However, as this damning documentary alleges, it appears that what we have "is a case of corporate-sponsored creation of disease."
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AALBC.com Interviews
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Russell SimmonsRussell Simmons - Hip-Hop Mogul Expounds on the Transition from Materialism to Meditation
http://aalbc.com/reviews/russell_simmons_the_super_rich.html

Russell Wendell Simmons was born in Queens, New York on October 4, 1957, the middle of three sons to bless the marriage of Daniel and Evelyn Simmons, a public school administrator and NYC parks administrator, respectively. Russell and Rick Rubin co-founded Def Jam Records, the legendary hip-hop label, in 1984.

A devoted yogi, Russell also leads the non-profit division of his empire, Rush Community Affairs, and its ongoing commitment to empowering at-risk youth through education, the arts, and social engagement. Furthermore, he serves as UN Goodwill Ambassador for The Permanent Memorial to Honor the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Here, he talks about his new book, Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All, a how-to tome which champions meditation over materialism as the path to true wealth.

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Kerry WashingtonKerry Washington on Everything from Film, Family & President Obama
http://aalbc.com/reviews/kerry_washington.html

Winner of the 2005 NAACP Image Award as the “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” for Ray, Kerry Washington is a versatile, talented and fearless actress who has built an impressive list of credits over the course of her relatively brief career. She has also garnered critical acclaim for recent roles in Mother and Child, The Last King of Scotland, The Dead Girl and Lakeview Terrace.

Kerry is an active member on the Board of Directors for The Creative Coalition, a group dedicated to raising awareness of First Amendment Rights and to the support of the arts in education. Plus, she’s a member of the V-Counsel, a group of advisors to V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls (www.vday.org). As for endorsement deals, Kerry is a spokesperson for both L’Oreal Paris and Movado.

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Dr. Julianne Malveaux Dr. Julianne Malveaux - The “Surviving and Thriving” Interview
http://aalbc.com/reviews/julianne_malveaux.html

Dr. Julianne Malveaux is the 15th President of Bennett College for Women. Malveaux’s insights on issues such as race, culture, gender, and their economic impacts are helping to shape and thus immeasurably impact the mindset of 21st Century America. Always in demand in this capacity as a sage television commentator, Dr. Malveaux appears regularly on CNN, BET, PBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, C-SPAN and other networks.

Currently, Malveaux serves on the boards of the Economic Policy Institute, The Recreation Wish List Committee of Washington, DC, and the Liberian Education Trust. Here, she talks about her career and about her new book “Surviving and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black Economic History.”

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Dr. Cornel WestDr. Cornel West - Dr. West’s Prognosis for the Country’s Prospects
http://aalbc.com/reviews/dr_cornel_west.html

Dr. Cornel West is a prominent and provocative public intellectual dedicated to democracy. Currently the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard in three years and obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Princeton.

Here, he discusses his participation in "America’s Next Chapter," a forum hosted by Tavis Smiley where a panel of luminaries will wrestle with the question, “How do we make America as good as its promise?” The event took place on Thursday, January 13th at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium. You’ll also be able to watch the entire program.

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Van JonesAnthony "Van" Jones - Former Obama Green Czar Opines on the State of the "Carbon Nation"
http://aalbc.com/reviews/van_jones.html

A clean energy pioneer and author of the eco-employment best-seller "The Green-Collar Economy," he was invited by the Obama Administration to serve as Green Czar. But Van decided to resign from the post in the wake of a relentless, right-wing smear campaign which accused him of everything from being a Communist to signing a petition suggesting that the Bush Administration had knowingly permitted the terrorist attacks on 9/11 to transpire.

Here, he talks about all of the above, and about his appearance in Carbon Nation, a cautionary documentary about the consequences of climate change. The film opens in theaters in New York City on February 11, and will open elsewhere around the country later in the month and in March before becoming available on DVD in April.
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AALBC.com Recommends
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BlackPast.orgBlackPast.org, Remembered and Reclaimed:
http://www.blackpast.org

BlackPast.org, founded on February 1, 2007, is broadly conceived to provide reference information on people of African ancestry in the United States and around the world. BlackPast.org is supported by a volunteer staff of twelve and over 500 volunteer contributors. The website has nearly 10,000 pages and is free and ungated. New features are added regularly.

BlackPast.org includes: An online encyclopedia featuring over 4,000 entries which describe people, places and events in African American and global African history; The complete text of over 200 speeches by African Americans and other people of African ancestry from 1789 to 2009. Over 100 full text Primary Documents—court decisions, laws, organizational statements, treaties, government reports and executive orders. Seven major timelines that show the history of people of African ancestry from 5 million B.C.E. to today, and much, much more.

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Breath of LifeBreath of Life - A Sharing and Discussion of Black Music
http://www.kalamu.com/bol/

Kalamu ya Salaam and his son, Mtume ya Salaam have created one of my favorite sites. I anxiously await ech weekly installment. If you enjoy music check out Breath of like you will not be disappointed. The follow is the "About Us" text from the Breath of Life website:

All humans make music. Black music (meaning music produced or heavily influenced by people of African descent) is one of the main forces in popular music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Even though Black music is ultimately a reflection and expression of the experiences of people of African descent, Black music is not an exclusively racial product. People from diverse backgrounds all over the world produce rap, jazz, blues, gospel, funk and many other forms of Black music. Additionally, from classical music to what is humorously called “hick hop” (rap influenced country music), Black music has directly affected all major forms of music in the world today.

This website is a celebration of Black music. We update every Sunday and offer three selections each week: a classic (music that is a major example of a specific genre or style), a contemporary (music produced within the last decade or so), and a cover (previously recorded music that is given a new or different interpretation).
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Book Events & Related Events
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2011 Literary FestivalThe 2011 Ladies of the Dove Literary Festival
http://aalbc.it/litfest2011

The 2011 Ladies of the Dove Literary Festival is being held in Hinesville, Georgia on Saturday, March 12th from 10am-5pm. Featured authors include New York Times Best Selling Author Mary Monroe, Tina McElroy Ansa, Kendra Norman-Bellamy and more. Author and Vendor tables are now being reserved on a first come first serve basis.

For more information visit http://aalbc.it/litfest2011 or email litfest2011@chipizeta.org

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Urban Book FestivalThe First Annual "Baltimore Urban Book Fest" - Sunday April 10, 2011 From 3pm-7pm at The Fredrick Douglass-Issac Myers Maritime Park Museum Baltimore MD
http://bubf.eventbrite.com/

Author Chris Hicks: AAMBC and The Frederick Douglass Museum Presents The First Annual "Baltimore Urban Book Fest"
Sunday April 10, 2011 From 3pm-7pm at The Fredrick Douglass-Issac Myers Maritime Park Museum 1417 Thames St Baltimore MD 21231. $10 general admission, Kids 12 & under free, $5 admission with college id, $5 admission for all registered book clubs, Tickets may be purchased on the day of the event

There will be a live jazz band, fully catered buffet, light bar, special activities for kids will be available, special panel discussion. Proceeds from this event will be donated to the Ben Carlson Reading Rooms program to provide funding and support to local schools so that they can create a nurturing environment for a child to feel safe and secure as they develop their reading skills. We will also contribute to The Fredrick Douglass Museum Living Classroom Foundation in support of their hands-on, experience-based approach to education that emphasizes learning by doing and teaches important academics, job skills and life skills through real-world experiences.

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Editor’s Note:
http://aalbc.it/BookEvents

AALBC.com’s events calendar is an ideal resource for authors who wish to post their entire tour schedules, or folks who only want to promote a single event.

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NPR, February 24, 2011 - Your 2011 Books-Into-Films Lineup, From ’Eyre’ To ’Water’ To ’Desert’
http://aalbc.it/f0PJ2v

The Book: Somalian model-turned-writer Waris Dirie published Desert Flower in 1998, telling the world her story of escaping from her rural village after having been circumcised at 5 and sold into marriage at 13. She is now an international advocate against female genital mutilation, and also happens to be a stunner.

The Film: Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede takes on the Waris role — she is discovered in a London fast food restaurant by a fashion photographer, and soon it is all catwalks and, later, activism. This is a feel-good film, to be sure, but hinges on the precarious assumption that models can act. View Trailer Here.

Cick to Buy the Book Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad

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Jeff FortChicago Tribune, February 18, 2011 - New book on the Black P. Stone Nation By Courtney Crowder
http://aalbc.it/jefffort

More than a decade before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Jeff Fort, longtime Chicagoan and former leader of the Blackstone Rangers, which morphed into El Rukn, one of the city’s most lethal street gangs, and some of his fellow gang members were the first Americans to be convicted of domestic terrorism, according to "The Almighty Black P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall and Resurgence of an American Gang."
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