AALBC Search
Going Postal
Going Postal Kam Williams Book Review "Rage as we know it today did not exist when Ronald Reagan took power in 1981. The word stress had a far less lethal meaning then. The vise hadn’t ye...
The Hip Hop Project
The Hip Hop Project Kam Williams the_hi36.jpg Film Review Once Homeless Orphan Relies on Rap to Reach Troubled NYC Teens The Hip Hop Project Rated PG-13 for profanity and ...
Black Man under the Deep Blue Sea
Black Man under the Deep Blue Sea Emanuel Carpenter Book Review What if Jacques Cousteau was a black American? Would he have had the opportunities to explore the waters, write books about his experi...
Snakes on a Plane Review
Snakes on a Plane Review Kam Williams snakes7.jpg Film Review "Campy Fright Flick Loads of Fun in Spite of Cheesy F/X and Clich’-Ridden Script" Snakes on a Plane Excellent (4 sta...
Running to Fall
Running to Fall Publishers Weekly’s Booklife Book Review This review originally appeared on Booklife Buckhanon (Speaking of Summer) reveals the emotional complexity behind the facade...
With Billie
With Billie Robert Fleming Book Review Sometimes an author gets a good idea but it takes time, endurance, and determination to complete ...
Severed: A Novel
Severed: A Novel Mel Hopkins Book Review Severed, a Novel | A Black Woman’s Burden Someone is a few digits short of a hand in Nakadee, Louisiana. What’s worse, someone may be t...
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth Kam Williams pruitt_igoe-implosion.jpg Film Review DVD Revisits Rise and Demise of Ill-Conceived Housing Project The Pruitt-Igoe Myth Click to Buy DVD via Amazon DV...
Just Too Good to Be True
Just Too Good to Be True Thumper Book Review I never thought the moon would rise or the sun would set on the day that I would be writing a review on any E. Lynn Harris book. I use to be a fan of ...
A Haunted House 2
A Haunted House 2 Kam Williams haunted-house2-movie-review.jpg Film Review A Haunted House 2 In Theaters: Apr 18, 2014 Wide Running time: 87 minutes Rated R for violence, graphic sexuality, front...
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 ...
High Waters
High Waters Thumper Book Review High Waters, a novel by Suzon Tropez, is a novel that I am unsure as to what the storyline or the point of the novel is. I think it is a novel about an older black ...
Place of Cool Waters
Place of Cool Waters Michael A. Gonzales Book Review As a book critic, I rarely know what to expect when handed a project to review. There are veteran writers who drop projects that make me question ...
Why We Laugh
Why We Laugh Kam Williams images/whywelaugh.jpg Film Review Reverential Documentary Pays Homage to Black Pioneers of Comedy Why We Laugh Click to order via Amazon Unrated Running time:...
Black Power Inc.
Black Power Inc. Rondall Brasher Book Review I would like to initiate my review of Cora Daniels’ Black Power Inc. by eluding to a quote attributed to Malcolm X, too Black’too strong. T...
Meeting David Wilson
Meeting David Wilson Kam Williams meetin7.jpg Film Review MSNBC Special to Feature Reunion of Blacks and Whites Linked to Ancestors from Same Slave Plantation Meeting David Wilson Unrated...
Sarah Palin: You Betcha!
Sarah Palin: You Betcha! Kam Williams images/sarahpalin_movieposter.jpg Film Review Sarah Palin Takes It on the Chin in Unflattering Bio-Pic Sarah Palin: You Betcha! Unrated Running time: 91 m...
The Five-Year Engagement
The Five-Year Engagement Kam Williams 5yearengagement.jpg Film Review Wedding Delays Strain Relationship in Raunchy Romantic Comedy The Five-Year Engagement [2012] In Theaters: Apr 27, 201...
Chocolate Sangria
Chocolate Sangria Thumper Book Review Reviewed by Thumper for AALBC.com I read Tracy Price-Thompson’s first book, Black Coffee, last year. I loved it and wrote a glowing review for it. Befor...
The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates Thumper Book Review In an effort to expand my reading to non-fiction titles, as well as the fact that the book is small in size, I read The Beauti...
Memoir: Delaware County Prison
Memoir: Delaware County Prison Thumper Book Review Memoir: Delaware County Prison by Reginald L. Hall is a non-fiction account of the eight months Hall, an openly gay man, spent in prison for credit...
Review of A Raisin in the Sun DVD (2008)
Review of A Raisin in the Sun DVD (2008) Kam Williams a_rais29.jpg Film Review Diddy Stars in Adaptation of Classic Play Available on DVD A Raisin in the Sun Click to order vi...
1971 (★★★★) Film Review
1971 (★★★★) Film Review Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/1971.jpg Film Review Whistleblower Documentary Recounts Break-In Uncovering Illegal FBI Surveillance Program 1971 In Theaters: Fe...
American Gun (2005) - Film Review
American Gun (2005) - Film Review Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/movies36.jpg Film Review Forest Whitaker Tops Ensemble Cast in ’Crash’-Style Melodrama American Gun Excellent (4 star...
A Streetcar Named Desire (Review of the Broadway Play)
A Streetcar Named Desire (Review of the Broadway Play) Troy Johnson atreetcardposter.jpg Film Review Parker & Underwood Bring New Brilliance to Williams’ Streetcar Tennessee Williams&...
If My Hair Had a Voice
If My Hair Had a Voice Lisa Y? Wilson Book Review When another comb loses the battle with Kimya’s natural coils, feeling shame she apologizes and asks, “Can’t we just straighten it?...
Black and Ugly
Black and Ugly Thumper Book Review Shocked?! You should be. I know I am. Before any of you say anything, I admit that I am somewhat surprised to be reading T. Styles latest novel, Black and U...
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...
Unfinished Business: Black Women
Unfinished Business: Black Women Kam Williams Book Review “This book explores the Black Church as a black religious site that can offer not only hope and cultural flourishing for poor black w...
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...
Sorry You’re Having A Bad Night by E.K. Robertson
Sorry You’re Having A Bad Night by E.K. Robertson Denolyn Carroll Book Review From its prologue to its epilogue, E. K. Robertson’s Sorry You’re Having A Bad Night delivers on the hallmark...
Just As I Am By Cicely Tyson
Just As I Am By Cicely Tyson Robert Fleming Book Review When I was a teen sweeping sawdust at the butchery, where I worked after school hours, my uncle hipped me to jazz and Bird, Monk, Prez, and La...
I Love My People
I Love My People Robert Fleming Book Review Lovingly crafted with an eye for substance and content, scholar Kim Singleton was determined with her new book, I Love My People. As a “race woman,&r...
Trespass: Portraits of Unhoused Life, Love, and Understanding
Trespass: Portraits of Unhoused Life, Love, and Understanding Clarence V. Reynolds Book Review Have you ever come upon or passed a homeless/unhoused person and experienced an emotion that tugged at y...
The Rebel’s Clinic
The Rebel’s Clinic Robert Fleming Book Review For decades now, the writings of noted psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon, who died in 1961, have been essential reading for anyone who wanted to ...
Alas
Alas Kam Williams Book Review “I project an outward appearance of success, confidence and strength. I am a successful author, a single mom… and a very vocal child and foster care advoc...
A Hand to Guide Me
A Hand to Guide Me Kam Williams Book Review "Every individual you are about to meet in these pages has remained humble, and that’s been my mantra for as long as I can remember’ a...
A Matter of Life or Death: Why Black Men Must Save Black Boys in America’s Public Schools
A Matter of Life or Death: Why Black Men Must Save Black Boys in America’s Public Schools Kam Williams Book Review “Life for many black boys is akin to a war. Wars on their minds, souls, spi...
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...
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&...
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...
Seventh Child
Seventh Child Thumper Book Review Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X is a memoir told by his nephew, Rodnell P. Collins and his mother, Ella Little Collins. Seventh Child is a nice, factual,...
The Monkeybars of Life
The Monkeybars of Life Robert Fleming Book Review Ted Pittman’s debut novel, The Monkeybars Of Life, salutes the dual notions of endurance and survival. Pittman’s ...
Choreographing the Folk
Choreographing the Folk Kam Williams Book Review ’Although I studied ballet and modern from an early age, jazz dance was my greatest love… In these predominantly white ...
Some of My Best Friends: A White Woman’s Journey into Racial Profiling
Some of My Best Friends: A White Woman’s Journey into Racial Profiling Kam Williams Book Review “This project grew out of my realization that I was negatively profiling young African-American...
The Myth of Race/The Reality of Racism: Critical Essays
The Myth of Race/The Reality of Racism: Critical Essays Kam Williams Book Review “From today’s perspective in a media-soaked world all too familiar with the genomic footprints of huma...
Dark Girls
Dark Girls Kam Williams Book Review “In today’s society, dark skin has become linked to longer prison time, higher unemployment rates, low self-esteem, lower standards of beauty, a...
Hitch
Hitch Michael Dequina news_f12.jpg Film Review Hitch Buy the DVD Via Amazon Directed by Andy Tennant Writing credits (WGA) Kevin Bisch (written by) Will Smith …. Alex ’Hitch&rsq...
Hollywood Fantasies of Miscegenation
Hollywood Fantasies of Miscegenation Kam Williams Book Review "Hollywood Fantasies of Miscegenation analyzes white fantasies of interracial desire in the history of popular American film. Fro...
Promises to Keep
Promises to Keep Thumper Book Review Your beloved son is murdered and your family slowly begins falling apart. How do you hold it all together, your family, yourself and find the murderer of your s...
Book Review: Them That Are Called: An Epic
Book Review: Them That Are Called: An Epic Robert Fleming Book Review This truly epic science-fiction novel, Them That Are Called, took its author more than sixteen years to complete this hefty narra...
Freedom Riders (American Experience)
Freedom Riders (American Experience) Kam Williams images/Sprite%20117.jpg Film Review American Experience: Freedom Riders Click to buy via Amazon.com Number of discs: 1 Rated: NR (...
Black Boys, I See You
Black Boys, I See You Kirkus Book Review STARRED REVIEW Written from a place of love and deeply attuned to the emotional needs of Black boys. A kid lit giant extends a mighty message of love. ...
Walk Through Darkness
Walk Through Darkness Thumper Book Review Walk Through Darkness is magnificent! The writing prowess of David Anthony Durham is a promise fulfilled. Now, if, dear reader, your time is of the essence ...
6 Days in January
6 Days in January Thumper Book Review I am breaking with tradition on my review of 6 Days in January by William Frederick Cooper, because I loathe this book so much, I can't hold my disgust wi...
Big Enough to Be Inconsistent
Big Enough to Be Inconsistent Thumper Book Review There is a great chance that my review of Big Enough to Be Inconsistent: Abraham Lincoln Confronts Slavery and Race by George M. Fredrickso...
6 Days in January
6 Days in January Thumper Book Review I am breaking with tradition on my review of 6 Days in January by William Frederick Cooper, because I loathe this book so much, I can't hold my disgust w...
Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler
Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler Robert Fleming Book Review { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Review", "headline": "Review of Positive Obsession: The...
Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler
Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler Robert Fleming Book Review { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Review", "headline": "Review of Positive Obsession: The...
The Savion Sequence
The Savion Sequence Connie Bradley Book Review This review is of the 2011 version of The Savion Sequence My interest was recently piqued by a trailer which appeared on the AALBC.com discussion b...
Brown’s Possession
Brown’s Possession Idrissa Uqdah Book Review To say that the books in acVernon Menchan’s trilogy; Black’s Trilogy are about a complicated love story is like saying water is wet. C...
The Loving Story
The Loving Story Kam Williams the-loving-story.jpg Film Review Civil Rights Documentary Recounts Landmark Supreme Court Decision on Interracial Marriage The Loving Story (2012) In Theaters: Dec 10...
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Kam Williams startrek-2013-blueray.jpg Film Review Read the comments now. Read our review after you see the film (there some spoilers). Kirk Matches Wits with Rogue Co...
Changing the Game
Changing the Game Kam Williams changing-the-game.jpg Film Review Ambitious Ghetto Orphan Tested in All Ways in Sobering Coming-of-Age Changing the Game [2012] In Theaters: May 11, 2012 Limited Dram...
Daddy Day Camp
Daddy Day Camp Kam Williams daddy_52.jpg Film Review Daddy Day Camp Click to order via Amazon Rated PG for bodily humor and mild epithets. Running time: 93 minutes Studio: Sony Pic...
Black in America
Black in America Kam Williams black_11.jpg Film Review Over-Hyped CNN Special Fails to Measure-Up to the Buzz Black in America Click to order via Am...
The Boys of Baraka
The Boys of Baraka Kam Williams the_bo3.jpg Film Review Kenya as Alternative to Mean Streets of Baltimore The Boys of Baraka Directed by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady Genre: Documentary Runtime: 8...
Life Is A Canvas
Life Is A Canvas Carol Taylor Book Review Life is a Canvas is a contemporary novel about finding love and self and how the choices we make early in life, particularly in our twenties, sets us on a pa...
Consumed…
Consumed… Jacqueline Jones LaMon Book Review AALBC.com review by Jacqueline Jones LaMon I firmly believe that there are no coincidences in this life, that we are presented with that which is f...
Fever in the Blood
Fever in the Blood Thumper Book Review I must say that I write this review from a somewhat prejudicial position. I am a fan of Robert Fleming. I loved the two anthologies he edited, Intimacy and ...
Chike and the River
Chike and the River Kam Williams Book Review Book Review by Kam Williams "Chike was now 11 years-old, and he had never left his village. Then one day his mother told him that he would be going to ...
The Upper Room
The Upper Room Thumper Book Review Mary Monroe initially caught my attention and admiration with her second novel God Don’t Like Ugly. I loved God Don’t Like Ugly, as I previously stated...
Kiss and Tail
Kiss and Tail Kam Williams http://aalbc.com/authors/Kiss-and-tail.jpg Film Review Video Vixen’s Victims Get Even on Damning DVD Kiss and Tail: Hollywood Jump Off Click to order via Amazo...
HIV/AIDS: The Facts and The Fiction
HIV/AIDS: The Facts and The Fiction Kam Williams Book Review “Unfortunately, a series of interlocking misconceptions have distorted scientific and public perceptions of HIV and the AIDS epide...
Oprah: A Biography
Oprah: A Biography Kam Williams Book Review "I’ve tried to … penetrate the myth in order to answer the eternal question: What’s she really like? In the process, I found a remar...
A Person of Interest
A Person of Interest Thumper Book Review I have begun looking forward to reading novels written by Ernest Hills. I became a fan of his work after reading two of his previous novels; ...
Soul Men
Soul Men Kam Williams soul_m4.jpg Film Review Sam Jackson and Bernie Mac Co-Star in Rollicking Road Comedy Soul Men Click to order via Amazon Rated R for nudit...
Take Me to the River
Take Me to the River Kam Williams take-me-to-the-river-300.jpg Film Review Take Me to the River (2014) In Theaters: Sep 12, 2014 Limited Rated: PG Running Time: 95 Minutes Musical & Performi...
GhettoPhysics
GhettoPhysics Kam Williams images/ghettophysics.jpg Film Review Radical Fringe Flick Breaks World Down to Pimp and Hos GhettoPhysics: Will the Real Pimps and Hos Please Stand Up! Rated R for...
Homie Spumoni
Homie Spumoni Kam Williams homie_59.jpg Film Review Italian Kid Learns He’s Really Black in Cross-Cultural Comedy Homie Spumoni Click to order via Amazon Rated R ...
Jumping the Broom
Jumping the Broom Kam Williams images/jumping_the_broom.jpg Film Review Ghetto Meets Suburbia Comedy Co-Starring Alonso and Patton Arrives on DVD Jumping the Broom Click to order DVD fr...
Water Street
Water Street Thumper Book Review Recently, I had the pleasure of reading the short story collection, Water Street, written by Crystal E Wilkinson. I loved it. The short stories are slices of the l...
America I AM: A Journal
America I AM: A Journal Kam Williams Book Review "’Would America have been America without her Negro people?’ The question posed by W.E.B. Du Bois serves as the underlying theme for ...
Jelly Roll: A Blues
Jelly Roll: A Blues Rondall Brasher Book Review I preface this review by saying that I am an avid fan of the Blues. So, when someone comes along and captures the unmistakable feeling that comes w...
An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy
An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy Ralph Ellison Book Review Gunnar Myrdal’s An American Dilemma is not an easy book for an American Negro to review. Not because he mig...
The Bridge
The Bridge Thumper Book Review The Bridge, the second novel by Solomon Jones, should blow open the doors that his debut novel, Pipe Dreams did not. I am getting excited simply remembering the book ...
Shades of Jade
Shades of Jade Thumper Book Review I was debating on whether I should start this review by writing All Hail The New Queen. Why not? I'll only live once, so, All Hail The New Queen of AA mystery...
Muhammad Ali: The Long-Lost Movie
Muhammad Ali: The Long-Lost Movie Kam Williams ali_film.jpg Film Review Documentary Gives Glimpses of The Greatest in ’73 & ‘74 Muhammad Ali: The Long-Lost Movie Unra...
Pain & Gain
Pain & Gain Kam Williams pain-and-gain-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Crime Caper Recreates Real-Life Kidnapping Plot Pain & Gain (2013) In Theaters: Apr 26, 2013 Limited Rated R for graphic nudi...
Rejoice & Shout
Rejoice & Shout Kam Williams http://content8.flixster.com/movie/11/15/72/11157290_det.jpg Film Review 200-Year History of Gospel Music Celebrated in Sanctified Documentary Rejoice and Sho...
Giuliani Time
Giuliani Time Kam Williams giulia9.jpg Film Review Documentary Portrays Presidential Hopeful as Racist Mayor Giuliani Time Click to order via Amazon DVD Release Date: November 21, 2006 Run Time: ...
J. Edgar
J. Edgar Kam Williams jedgarmovieposter.jpg Film Review Biopic Uncovers Skeletons in Closet of Legendary FBI Director J. Edgar [2011] Rated R for brief profanity. Running time: 137 minutes Distr...
Going Home
Going Home Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Home Is Where The Heart Is Evelyn Palfrey is an author who writes romance novels. The unique thing about her books is that she writes romance for the "...
Oooooh… Say It Again: Mastering the Fine Art of Verbal Seduction and Aural Sex
Oooooh… Say It Again: Mastering the Fine Art of Verbal Seduction and Aural Sex Kam Williams Book Review “How can you get a woman sexually aroused simply by using certain words, your vo...
Hot Johnny (And the Women Who Loved Him)
Hot Johnny (And the Women Who Loved Him) Thumper Book Review “That’s mighty pretty, precious“ The question, "Damn Thumper is using a term of endearment in the heading of a r...
Go Cook Something: A Cooking Survival Guide for Active Independent Children
Go Cook Something: A Cooking Survival Guide for Active Independent Children Kam Williams Book Review "My Mom and Dad separated when I was still in Underoos, so I’ve had to help Mom a lot&hell...
Casanegra
Casanegra Linda Watkins Book Review From the moment Casanegra crossed my palms, I was curious. Not only for the content of the story within, but for the story of the trio of authors that penn...
Harlem Redux
Harlem Redux Thumper Book Review Persia Walker busts on the literary scene burnin’ rubber and smokin’ with her debut novel, Harlem Redux, a multi-faceted fictional tapestry. Harlem Redux...
Seed
Seed Thumper Book Review ’"The measure of a man", my father once said, "is in his scars. Without a scar he isn’t even a man. He is, merely, male."’ ―from...
Confessions of a Video Vixen
Confessions of a Video Vixen Kam Williams Book Review This is a review of a version of Confessions of a Video Vixen published 20 years earlier. Where young girls once aspired to be models and b...