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She’s Gotta Have It
She’s Gotta Have It Kam Williams shes_g9.jpg Film Review Spike Lee’s First Feature Film Finally Arrives on DVD She’s Gotta Have It (1986) Click to order via Amazon Directors: ...
Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing Kam Williams do_the8.jpg Film Review 20th Anniversary Edition of Spike Lee Classic Now Available on DVD Do the Right Thing Click to order via ...
Red Hook Summer
Red Hook Summer Kam Williams red-hook-summer.jpg Film Review Latest Spike Lee Joint Deserves to Get the Hook Red Hook Summer (2012) In Theaters: Aug 10, 2012 Limited R, 2 hr. 1 min. Drama Directed ...
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus Kam Williams the-sweet-blood-of-jesus.jpg Film Review Da Sweet Blood of Jesus [2015] In Theaters: Feb 13, 2015 LimitedRating: UnratedGenre: Drama Runtime: 2 hr. 3 min.Stu...
When the Levees Broke
When the Levees Broke Kam Williams when_t13.jpg Film Review When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Parts A Film Review by Kam Williams Fair (1 star) Unrated Running time: 240 minut...
Raising the Bar
Raising the Bar Kam Williams Book Review “Gabrielle Douglas is the first African-American and first woman of color from any nation to win an Olympic gold medal in the individual gymnastics ...
Grace
Grace Kam Williams Book Review “Gymnastics is not my passion anymore. I want to get famous off of running track, or I want to try dancing, or become a singer. I can get a job at Chi...
Bamboozled
Bamboozled Michael Dequina images/bamboozled.jpg Film Review Bamboozled Release Date: October 6th, 2000 (LA/NY); October 20th, 2000 (wide/moderate) MPAA Rating: R (for strong la...
Banished
Banished Kam Williams banish32.jpg Film Review Jaw-Dropping Documentary Revisits America’s Ethnic Cleansing of Blacks between Emancipation and Early 20th Century Banished: How ...
Uncle Yah Yah Parts I & II 21st Century Man of Wisdom
Uncle Yah Yah Parts I & II 21st Century Man of Wisdom Alvin Romer Book Review Author Al Dickens gives us his unique brand of wisdom told as by Uncle Yah Yah, a storyteller and wise sage spewing amus...
Minding the Wealth Gap
Minding the Wealth Gap Shaundale Rénā Book Review “The racial wealth gap for Black Americans remains significant, with a direct impact on social and economic growth in the United States” ...
Handbook for an Unpredictable Life How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother
Handbook for an Unpredictable Life How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother Kam Williams Book Review “I hated the fact that my mother was crazy. I wanted her to be normal. Even when...
We Gotta Have It
We Gotta Have It Kam Williams Book Review ’We Gotta Have It represents twenty years of seeing a new generation of Black movies. Before this journey began in 1986, with Spike Lee’s She...
Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor
Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor Kam Williams Book Review ‘Hokum is my chance to recognize and thank the black upper-, middle-, low-, and no-class clown for being more than comic...
Venus & Serena
Venus & Serena Kam Williams venusandsernea-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Revealing Biopic Examines Roots and Rise of World-Class Williams Sisters Venus & Serena In Theaters:...
Inside Man
Inside Man Kam Williams http://aalbc.com/reviews/inside7.jpg Film Review Bank Robbery-Turned-Hostage Drama Courtesy of Spike Lee Inside Man R for profanity and violence Running time: 129 minu...
Love & Basketball
Love & Basketball Michael Dequina http://aalbc.com/reviews/images/love.jpg Film Review Reviewed by Michael Dequina Love & Basketball (2000) Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps Director: G...
House of Payne, Volume 4
House of Payne, Volume 4 Kam Williams house_26.jpg Film Review House of Payne, Volume 4 Click to order via AmazonUnrated Running time: 440 minutes Studio: Lionsgat...
The Orig. Kings of Comedy
The Orig. Kings of Comedy Michael Dequina images/the_or7.jpg Film Review 2000 Paramount Pictures Staring: Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and ...
The Girl Is in Trouble
The Girl Is in Trouble Kam Williams the-girl-is-in-trouble.jpg Film Review The Girl Is in Trouble In Theaters: Apr 3, 2015 LimitedOn DVD: May 11, 2015Runtime: 1 hr. 34 min.Rating: UnratedGenre: Myst...
Traffic
Traffic Marvin X movietraffic.jpg Film Review There are many classic films on drugs and addiction, Traffic is now one of them. — Marvin X Traffic Click to order via Amazon Dir...
Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God
Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God Kam Williams Book Review “Why is it becoming increasingly acceptable to kill unarmed black children? Why are they so easily perceived as...
Kingston Noir
Kingston Noir Robert Fleming Book Review With his first anthology for Akashic, Iron Balloons, Colin Channer, author of the celebrated novel, Waiting In Vain, showcased the full range of contempo...
The Lazarus Parable: A Revelation for the 21st Century
The Lazarus Parable: A Revelation for the 21st Century Connie Bradley Book Review The Lazarus Parable by John C. Bonner is an apocalyptic tale which chronicles what the future holds for the planet ...
Real Eyez: Race
Real Eyez: Race Kam Williams Book Review “America’s oldest dilemmas are rooted in race realities that it, as a nation and as a society, refuses to confront. Is race the dilemma of t...
Say It Loud! Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African-American Identity
Say It Loud! Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African-American Identity Kam Williams Book Review "This is the second anthology of great speeches by African-Americans meant for the eye and ea...
Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, And Big Business Re-Create Race In The Twenty-First Century
Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, And Big Business Re-Create Race In The Twenty-First Century Kam Williams Book Review "Race is an invented political system, not a natural biological divi...
Black Gotham: A Family History of African-Americans in 19th Century New York City
Black Gotham: A Family History of African-Americans in 19th Century New York City Kam Williams Book Review "This book is… not exactly a family memoir, but neither is it traditional social hi...
Black Male Frames: African-Americans in a Century of Hollywood Cinema
Black Male Frames: African-Americans in a Century of Hollywood Cinema Kam Williams Book Review “Black Male Frames charts the development and shifting popularity of two stereotypes of black mal...
The Global Obama: Crossroads of Leadership in the 21st Century
The Global Obama: Crossroads of Leadership in the 21st Century Kam Williams Book Review “Barack Obama [has] garnered higher approval ratings in most parts of the world than in the United S...
The History of White People
The History of White People Kam Williams Book Review "Most Americans envision whiteness as racially indivisible, though ethnically divided; this is the scheme anthropologists laid out in the mid ...
Do I Have to Be a Starving Artist in the 21st Century?
Do I Have to Be a Starving Artist in the 21st Century? Kam Williams Book Review "The majority of my adult life I have been an artist… Through trial and error, a lot of tears, reading, and ve...
Black Like Us
Black Like Us Thumper Book Review Black Like Us: A Century of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual African American Fiction, the latest anthology of gay/lesbian AA literature, is, in a word, splendid. Showcas...
Sam Langford
Sam Langford Kam Williams Book Review In January of 1944, the New York Herald Tribune published The Forgotten Man a story about Sam Langford, aka “The Boston Tar Baby,” one of b...
Adam by Adam
Adam by Adam Thumper Book Review ’Never let anyone keep you contained and never let anyone keep your voice silent.’ -Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. to a young Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. If I were...
Adam by Adam: The Autobiography of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Adam by Adam: The Autobiography of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Thumper Book Review ’Never let anyone keep you contained and never let anyone keep your voice silent.’ -Adam Clayton Powell, ...
Lay This Body Down
Lay This Body Down Thumper Book Review I may have gotten my love for reading from my mother, but I got my love of a good story from my father. He was an excellent storyteller. During my years livin...
Moses and the Monster and Miss Anne
Moses and the Monster and Miss Anne Thumper Book Review I admit that the things that form my initial impressions of a book are somewhat shallow. I love a good book cover, whether it is pictures or ...
Black Power, Black Lawyer: My Audacious Quest for Justice
Black Power, Black Lawyer: My Audacious Quest for Justice Carol Taylor Book Review Much more than a memoir, Black Power, Black Lawyer traces not only Nkechi Taifa’s personal life, and her decad...
Brown Girl in the Ring
Brown Girl in the Ring Sheree Renée Thomas Book Review Science fiction fans who love the vision and storytelling prowess of Octavia E. Butler are in for a treat with this up-all-nighter f...
Masjid Morning
Masjid Morning Alexis E. Jackson Book Review Richard Morris’ Masjid Morning is a dedication to the millennial college student both embracing and learning how to live with religious and racial d...
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original Robert Fleming Book Review Highly detailed, stunning, and comprehensive, Robin Kelley’s excellent biography of innovative jazz pian...
Russell Atkins: On the Life & Work of an American Master
Russell Atkins: On the Life & Work of an American Master Robert Fleming Book Review This is an astounding tribute to one of the most innovative American artists, Russell Atkins, by a small, indepe...
The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World
The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World Robert Fleming Book Review It’s always beneficial to understand how learned minds, from abroad, view our current world wit...
Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film
Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film Kam Williams Book Review I admit that the things that form my initial impressions of a book are somewhat shallow. I love a good book cover, whether it...
Decoding the Dragon’s Mindset
Decoding the Dragon’s Mindset Kam Williams Book Review ’This book provides some fascinating and intriguing insights of the Chinese mindset that to most readers in the West ar...
The Life of Olaudah Equiano
The Life of Olaudah Equiano Thumper Book Review In a continuing effort to broaden my horizon and go outside of my comfort zone, I decided to read The Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano, eve...
Red at the Bone
Red at the Bone Brenda M. Greene Book Review Jacqueline Woodson is the best-selling author of more than two dozen award-winning books, including the 2016 New Times best-selling National Book Award fi...
Strange Fruit
Strange Fruit Paige Turner Book Review "Anatomy of a Mind Blowing Song" One of the most deeply satisfying and thought provoking books traces the anatomy of a rarely remember song from...
The Original Black Elite: Daniel Murray and the Story of a Forgotten Era
The Original Black Elite: Daniel Murray and the Story of a Forgotten Era Troy Johnson Book Review I grew up in New York City’s East Harlem during the 60s and 70s. Virtually all my peers were Bl...
Alex Haley and the Books that Changed a Nation
Alex Haley and the Books that Changed a Nation Adam Henig Book Review In Alex Haley and the Books that Changed a Nation, Robert J. Norrell, professor of history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxvi...
The Origin of Others
The Origin of Others Tony Lindsay Book Review Toni Morrison’s, The Origin of Others causes the reader to think about identity: what group does one belong to, who are those like self, and who ar...
Walking with Our Ancestors
Walking with Our Ancestors Denolyn Carroll Book Review On the face of it, contemplation is deep reflective thought or consideration. At a higher level, it hinges on a critical spiritual component tha...
The Central Park Five: A Chronicle of a City Wilding
The Central Park Five: A Chronicle of a City Wilding Kam Williams Book Review “In 1990, Anton McCray, Kevin Richardson, Korey Wise, Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana, Jr. [were] convicted and...
Love
Love Thumper Book Review For those of you who don’t know me or have not read any of my reviews, I have a tendency of getting extremely excited over republished books written by African Amer...
The Black Agenda
The Black Agenda Robert Fleming Book Review Who was Glen Ford? If you ask that question of some of the best critical thinkers in the Black community, they would say Ford was one of the most capabl...
Rainbow in the Cloud: The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou
Rainbow in the Cloud: The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou Kam Williams Book Review “‘Words mean more than what is set down on paper,’ Maya Angelou wrote in her groundbreaking m...
Surviving and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black Economic History
Surviving and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black Economic History Kam Williams Book Review “In her poem, ‘And Still I Rise,’ Dr. Maya Angelou wrote, ‘You can write me down in h...
The Black Count: Glory
The Black Count: Glory Kam Williams Book Review The original Alexandre Dumas was born in 1762… in the French sugar colony of Saint-Domingue. [His] life is so extraordinary on so many leve...
Who We Be: The Colorization of America
Who We Be: The Colorization of America Kam Williams Book Review “Race. A four-letter word. The greatest social divide in American life, a half-century ago and today. During that time, the ...
Raisins in Milk
Raisins in Milk Brenda M. Greene Book Review Raisins in Milk by David Covin is a coming of age story focused on a young girl, Ruth-Ann Weathering, who is subjected to the staunch racism and stark rea...
Cosby: His Life and Times
Cosby: His Life and Times Kam Williams Book Review “[Bill] Cosby grew up in a Philadelphia housing project, the son of an alcoholic, largely absent father and a loving but overworked mother&...
Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?
Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? Kam Williams Book Review “A book you can’t put down, but for all the wrong reasons.” “On May 17, 2004, ...
Women of a New Tribe
Women of a New Tribe Kam Williams Book Review African-American females have had a very difficult history: from slavery to racism to poverty. Although slavery has been abolished in this country, a...
Legends
Legends Kam Williams Book Review ’’Would America have been America without her Negro people?’ W.E.B. Du Bois wrote those words shortly after the turn of...
9780764344879
9780764344879 Kam Williams Book Review “With a population of nearly half a million people, Harlem is America’s most celebrated African-American neighborhood. Its rich past and historic...
Never Been a Time
Never Been a Time Thumper Book Review I am continuing my own personal goal of reading more history and biography books. If my memory serves me correctly, I think it had something to d...
Wonderful Ethiopians of the Ancient Cushite Empire
Wonderful Ethiopians of the Ancient Cushite Empire Kam Williams Book Review ’Arguably, Drusilla Dunjee Houston was one of the most important African-American women writers of the 20th Centu...
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth Kam Williams Book Review “This book is an attempt to reclaim, as much as possible, the Jesus of history, the Jesus of Christianity… whos...
Soul Recovery: 12 Keys to Healing Addiction
Soul Recovery: 12 Keys to Healing Addiction Kam Williams Book Review “This is a book about recovery—my recovery—from addiction to drugs, specifically cocaine. But… my addic...
Because of Race
Because of Race Kam Williams Book Review ’Today, racial inequality of opportunity and outcome in education is still the result of past generations of explicit policy decree...
My Song: A Memoir by Harry Belafonte
My Song: A Memoir by Harry Belafonte Robert Fleming Book Review My Song: A Memoir is the story of a blessed life, that of Harry Belafonte, the mythic musician, actor, humanitarian, and social activ...
In Trembling Boldness: Wisdom for Today from Ancient Jesus People
In Trembling Boldness: Wisdom for Today from Ancient Jesus People Denolyn Carroll Book Review The book In Trembling Boldness: Wisdom for Today from Ancient Jesus People brings us newly discovered wri...
Triple Take
Triple Take Thumper Book Review Triple Take, the debut novel by Y. Blak Moore, reminds me of an old timey Hollywood western. Despite the fact that Triple Take takes place in the 21st century mean s...
White Flight
White Flight Kam Williams Book Review "At the start of the 21st Century, the politics created by white flight are not simply still present; they are predominant. Despite its fundamental im...
The Hiptionary
The Hiptionary Kam Williams Book Review ’Throughout the cultural evolution of the United States, Black people have consistently contributed a huge stock of colorful words, phr...
Who’s Afraid Of Post-Blackness?
Who’s Afraid Of Post-Blackness? Kam Williams Book Review ’We’re in a post-Black era when our identity options are limitless. And there’s no going back… Post-Black means we ...
Broken Utterances
Broken Utterances Kam Williams Book Review ’This book endeavors to piece together the broken utterances of 20 women into a seamless painting of understanding which is representative of ...
The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power
The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power Kam Williams Book Review “This study introduces readers to key figures across a spectrum of black Republican...
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson Kam Williams Book Review "As the ’Bad’ tour moved to St. Louis, a 13 year-old boy named Peter joined the entourage. This kid had been with us in New York and was now...
The Simpsons
The Simpsons Kam Williams the_si5.jpg Film Review Bart and Company Brought Belatedly to Big Screen The Simpsons Rated PG-13 for double entendres, animated nudity and crude humor....
Heist: Who Stole the American Dream?
Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? Kam Williams heist.jpg Film Review Wall Street Exposé Chronicles Systematic Dismantling of Financial Protections Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? In...
Sovereign Evolution
Sovereign Evolution Kam Williams Book Review ’African-Americans could benefit from a 21st Century approach to freedom and equality, using sovereign principles as its interp...
The Wig
The Wig Linda Watkins Book Review There were many ways to evaluate, The Wig, by author Charles Wright, so many in fact, I had a difficult time deciding on how I could should begin this review. Perh...
i see through eyes
i see through eyes Kalamu ya Salaam Book Review Eric Payne is not ready to publish a book a poetry’but, on the other hand, the 21st century is a new time. If a person believes they are a poet a...
F.B. Eyes: How J. Edgar Hoover’s Ghostreaders Framed African American Literature
F.B. Eyes: How J. Edgar Hoover’s Ghostreaders Framed African American Literature Kam Williams Book Review “Drawing on nearly 14,000 pages of newly released FBI files, F.B. Eyes exposes the Bu...
Fifteen Steps to Corporate Feudalism: How the Rich Convinced America’s Middle Class to Eli
Fifteen Steps to Corporate Feudalism: How the Rich Convinced America’s Middle Class to Eli Kam Williams Book Review “Today, there is little doubt that the U.S. middle class is shrinking&hellip...
Fishing for Love on the Net
Fishing for Love on the Net Kam Williams Book Review ’Many people have tried online dating with no success. The steps necessary to secure love online still remains a mystery. Many more ...
Is Marriage for White People? How the African-American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone
Is Marriage for White People? How the African-American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone Kam Williams Book Review "Over the past half-century, African-.Americans have become the most unmarrie...
The Light of Truth: Writings of an Anti-Lynching Crusader
The Light of Truth: Writings of an Anti-Lynching Crusader Kam Williams Book Review “Ida B. Wells was born a slave in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1862. After beginning a teaching career to ...
The Salt Roads
The Salt Roads Linda Watkins Book Review Award winning author Nalo Hopkinson’s The Salt Roads is a multilayered fantasy full of various meanings, Haitian voodoo, mythology, slavery and Europe...
The Neoconservative Revolution
The Neoconservative Revolution Kam Williams Book Review ’In the United States, Jewish political conservatism was evident from the founding of the republic until well into the 20th Century&rsq...
Life of Pi
Life of Pi Kam Williams life-of-pi-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Pastel Seascape Serves as Exquisite Backdrop for Spiritual Tale of Survival Life of Pi (2012) In Theaters: Nov 21, 2012 Wide Rat...
William Kunstler
William Kunstler Kam Williams willia18.jpg Film Review Bio-Pic Chronicles the Life and Times of Late Civil Rights Lawyer William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe Unrated ...
The Wolverine
The Wolverine Kam Williams the-wolverine.jpg Film Review Jackman Journeys to Japan for Latest Adventure as Metal-Clawed Mutant The Wolverine In Theaters: Jul 25, 2013 Wide Rated PG-13 for sexuali...
The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give Kam Williams images/the-hate-you-give-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Amandla Stenberg Stars in Adaptation of Searing, Inner City Saga Excellent ★★★★ (out...
Constellation
Constellation Kam Williams conste58.jpg Film Review Dysfunctional Family Drama Unfolds Across the Color Line Constellation Click to order via Amazon Rated PG-13 for brief profanit...
The Cutting Season: A Novel
The Cutting Season: A Novel Emanuel Carpenter Book Review Attica Locke’s (Black Water Rising) latest novel, The Cutting Season, takes place on a sugar cane plantation in Louisiana. Though the s...
The Other Side of Losing
The Other Side of Losing Kam Williams Book Review ’The Curse of the Goat’ Real Cubs fans don't talk about it much, no more than once or twice a season. Usually it’s ...
Black Like You
Black Like You Kam Williams Book Review ’Listening to Knipp, a white man, impersonating Shirley Q. Liquor, a Black woman, was one thing. Actually seeing a white man in blackface dra...