Denzel Washington
tapped a most impressive collection of
contributors for this project, including
Presidents Clinton and Carter, Baseball
Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Yogi Berra,
NBA Coach Phil Jackson, Academy
Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg, American
Idol Ruben Studdard, Muhammad Ali, and
emerging ing�nue Kerry Washington, to
name a few. The idea behind the book was
to have each person share a refection
about a mentor who meant a lot to them.
Already poised to
assume the mantle of the promising black
Messiah is Barack Obama, another
up-and-comer who, like Ford and Barabara
Jordan before him, was catapulted into
the limelight courtesy of a charismatic
keynote speech at the convention. And
since Obama has hinted that he might
throw his hat into the ring in 2008,
some might want to get a sense of what
makes the Junior Senator from Illinois
tick.
Everybody knows that
Richard Pryor (1940-2005) was a comedic
genius known as much for his irreverent
stand-up act as for his appearances in
movies like Silver Streak, Uptown
Saturday Night and Stir Crazy. But most
of his fans are undoubtedly unaware of
the side of him shared by his daughter,
Rain, in �Jokes My Father Never Taught
Me,� as revealing and as heartbreaking a
dysfunctional family memoir as you could
ever hope to find.
Mallette has spun a
wonderful story that reminds us all to
evaluate our lives and strive for peace
in life and in our relationships. If
There Be Pain is entertaining,
educational and eclectic all at once
making for a fabulous read.
The black culture
police are at it again, lead running dog
is Rev. Jesse Jackson, perhaps the most
hypocritical culture policeman on the
scene--especially after leading
president Clinton in prayer over Monica
while himself engaged in extramarital
shenanigans. I can't take Jesse Jackson
with his twisted mouth ( from lying)
pontificating on moral issues while he
is the most immoral of men, even pimping
the blood of MLK, Jr.
To his credit, the
sagacious, salacious sex historian makes
up for his lack of credentials with an
infectious enthusiasm for his material
and a colorful ability to turn a phrase,
even if he is prone to profanity.
Overall, White Men Can't Hump happens to
be quite an entertaining page-turner
which rests on the thesis that the
legacy of slavery has left black males
both devalued and blamed for their
collective lower station in life.
Kam Williams: How does it feel to still
be a sex symbol at 50?
Denzel Washington: [Fakes snoring] I
don�t know anything about that. I�ll be
52 in December. Turning 50 made me
realize that this is not the dress
rehearsal. I was already sort of in that
mind set before that, but it really hit
home to enjoy every day, to try to lead
and live a good life, a healthy life,
and to keep things simple. Sex symbol? I
don�t think about it. I don�t even know
what any of that stuff means.
The son of Jamaican immigrants to
England, Delroy Lindo was born in London
on November 18, 1952. He began acting at
the age of five when appeared in a
Nativity pageant. As a teenager, he
moved with his mother to Toronto till
they migrated to San Francisco where he
would study acting at the American
Conservatory Theater.
Laurence: I got the script,
actually, the day before I went to work.
I read it, and I was really, really
impressed with the piece in terms of
dealing with 22 different lives. I
really enjoyed reading it, because
you�re dealing with so many different
kinds of relationships. So, there�s a
lot of sadness in it, a lot of pain, a
lot of laughter, a lot of joy, a lot of
compassion and understanding, a lot of
conflict, all things that we experience
as human beings. So, it was very full,
and very rich. It was a very, very thick
kind of tapestry that he has
[writer/director Emilio Estevez] woven
into the script, and I think that he has
executed it very, very well.
Once Crash landed the
Academy Award for Best Picture, it was
only a matter of time before other
ensemble dramas exploring explosive
social issues from a variety of
perspectives would begin arriving in
theaters. Bobby is one such
expanded-cast production, a period piece
which features 22 people whose lives
partially overlap inside L.A.�s
Ambassador Hotel on June 4, 1968.
If you want an
unblinking, bird�s eye view of man�s
inhumanity to man, then look no further
than The Empire in Africa, a shocking
film featuring more bloodletting than
your average teen slasher flick, only
for real. Narrated by Richie Havens,
this almost unbearable expose�
chronicles the civil strife inside
Sierra Leone.
If there was ever any doubt that gangsta�
rap is a man�s game, Black Entertainment
Television confirmed the fact that
sisters need not apply at its First
Annual Hip-Hop Awards. The event was
staged in Atlanta, where it was hosted
by pimp comedian Katt Williams, a
prot�g� of Snoop Dogg known for his
misogynistic brand of humor. Katt set
the tone in monologue with remarks like
the line where he referred to Venus and
Serena Williams as natural disasters.
A former Chair of the Congressional
Black Caucus, Maxine was born in St.
Louis, Missouri, one of 13 children
reared by a single mother. At the tender
age of 13, she began working in
factories and segregated restaurants.
After moving to Los Angeles, she was
employed in the garment industry and
then by the telephone company.
Wells is an author, the editor of The
Urbania Magazine, and Webmaster of
ArtOfficialMedia.com. In his
twenties, Wells holds an M.S. in
Professional Writing from Towson
University and a B.S. from Columbia
College in Chicago. He currently resides
in Baltimore, Maryland, and is working
on his next novel, "Blackfaces".
Founded in 2005, Art Official Media LLC
is a publisher of urban books and art
related media, with an emphasis on
e-books, paperbacks, audio, films and
magazines that illustrate and enhance
the urban perspective. In addition to
publishing, Art Official Media LLC
handles all aspects of the distribution
process for independent book publishers,
self published authors, independent
record labels and film companies that
cater to an urban market.
Smith has received fellowships
from the Frederick Douglass Creative
Arts Center and The New York Council on
the Arts. She was born and raised in
Brooklyn and now lives in Atlanta with
her son. She is currently at work on her
next novel.
Harlem
World Lounge - November 30th, 8 pm, NYC
HW Lounge Celebrates Books with Malaika
Adero and the
UpSouth Book Festival
Join the Harlem World movement in an
intimate setting on November 30th, 8
pm, at Tribal Spears Cafe. Meet and
greet Malaika Adero, Simon & Schuster,
editor and founder of the new "UpSouth
Book Festival" and in the recent Fall
Fashion 2006 issue of Harlem World
Magazine. The event will be hosted HW
Lounge hostess by Eliza B, special
guests include Rashidah Ismaili,
Colin Channer, Eisa Ulen, and
Flores A. Forbes and others.
8 - 8:30
pm Harlem Brewing mix, mingle and music
(while supplies last)
8:30 - 9:30 pm With a special excerpts
from the "UpSouth Book Festival" with HW
Senior Book Editor
Troy
Johnson and Eliza B
9:30 - 10:30 pm Book signing with Hue
Man Books
BEA combines the largest selection of
English language titles on the planet
with special industry and author events
and unparalleled educational content.
The excitement of BEA fuels the passion
for books and sparks new ideas for
publishers, booksellers, librarians and
rights professionals from around the
world.
Literary Living hosted by
best-selling author Heather Covington,
airs every Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. (EST).
The show targets an exclusive audience,
the African American book buying market.
The half-hour program will take viewers
on a journey through the offices and
streets of New York City; will introduce
some of today�s greatest publishers,
authors, writers and poets. Visit
http://www.thumperscorner.com/discus/messages/1/17457.html
for more information.
AALBC.com ranks 1# in
the category of Readers of Black
Literature!
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AM I DOING?
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Advertisement
Legacy: Treasures of Black History
Legacy represents a major new contribution to African-American history. The
Black experience and its impact on our nation's culture and character come
alive in twelve chapters that sweep from ancient Africa and the slave trade
to such key eras as the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction; the
Harlem Renaissance and the Jim Crow Era; and the modern Civil Rights and
Black Power/Black Arts movements.
A
Hand to Guide Me: Legends and Leaders
Celebrate the People Who Shaped Their
Lives by Denzel Washington
The
Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming
the American Dream by Barack Obama
Jokes
My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love,
and Loss with Richard Pryor by Rain
Pryor - Reviewed by Kam Williams
If
There Be Pain by Gloria Mallette -
Reviewed by Jayne Cubbage
Nigguh
Please! by Marvin X
White
Men Can't Hump (As Good As Black Men):
Race & Sex in America, Volumes I & II by
Todd Wooten
Denzel
Washington - The Deja Vu Interview with
Kam Williams
Delroy
Lindo - The Wondrous Oblivion Interview
with Kam Williams
Laurence
Fishburne - The Bobby Interview with Kam
Williams
Bobby
(2006) - Film Review by Kam Williams
The
Empire in Africa - Film Review by Kam
Williams
BET
First Annual Hip-Hop Awards - Article by
Kam Williams
Maxine
Waters - The Hip Hop Symposium Interview
with Kam Williams 
Q.B.
Wells 
Andrea
Smith 
Harlem
World Lounge - November 30th, 8 pm, NYC
Book
Expo America (BEA)
The
National Coalition of 100 Black Women,
Inc. Greater Miami Chapter
Literary
Living
Readers
of Black Literature
HOW
AM I DOING?
