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Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story
Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story Robert Fleming Book Review Jazz is dead! If you believe that mess, you must not listen to radio or read any of the mainstream media. Howeve...
Powerhouse Radio: Rough Roads, Radiance, and Rebirth
Powerhouse Radio: Rough Roads, Radiance, and Rebirth Ahmad Wright Book Review It is not often that a living person’s résumé reads as a memoir, however, Powerhouse Radio: Rough Roa...
All You Need to Know about the Music Business
All You Need to Know about the Music Business Kam Williams Book Review ’In the music business, the key to success lies in knowing how to protect yourself. To do that, you need...
Digging
Digging Robert Fleming Book Review The literary legacy of award-winning writer and poet Amiri Baraka continues to thrive as he releases another new book, Digging: The Afro-American Soul Of ...
When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life as a Hip-Hop Feminist
When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life as a Hip-Hop Feminist Lynne d. Johnson Book Review Hip-hop has intrinsically woven itself into the fabric of Americana. The culture, music, icons, and p...
Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey
Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey Kam Williams Book Review “Music and religion were the twin forces that shaped John Coltrane’s early years. Both of his grandfathers were Me...
Q: The Autobio of Quincy Jones
Q: The Autobio of Quincy Jones Paige Turner Book Review The new book, Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones reads almost like a fable or a fairy tale. The young Quincy Jones, with his twinkly eyes, wa...
The Brothers
The Brothers Paige Turner Book Review Musical Gumbo Features Some of Life’s Ups and Lotsa Life’s Downs The Neville Brothers new autobiography, The Brothers, co written with celebrity bio...
Sap Rising
Sap Rising Thumper Book Review There’s music in the trees. Whether the trees are standing still under the blue cloudless sky, or in its embarrassed nakedness under gray heavens with biting wint...
To Funk and Die in L.A.
To Funk and Die in L.A. Tony Lindsay Book Review Nelson George’s To Funk and Die in LA, offers the reader multiple mysteries to solve. The protagonist, D Hunter (a New Yorker), is immediately w...
Souls for Sale
Souls for Sale Kam Williams Book Review “Between Black television shows and white-owned and controlled urban formatted radio that have little regard for Black cultural dignity and ethnic ...
Jelly Roll: A Blues
Jelly Roll: A Blues Rondall Brasher Book Review Please allow me to set off the mood of this review by quoting one of my favorite Blues songs: I’ve been downhearted baby Ever since th...
Jungle Nights & Soda Fountain Rags
Jungle Nights & Soda Fountain Rags Kalamu ya Salaam Book Review Brian Gilmore is a cut above. His 30-part poem on Duke Ellington is deep and deft. Each section can stand alone, but taken as a whole ...
The Roots of Rap
The Roots of Rap Neoma Nwasike Book Review Hip-Hop is a culture that has spanned generations and has become worldwide. It found its humble beginnings in some of the roughest trenches, deep in the Bro...
Punta Soul
Punta Soul Kam Williams punta_28.jpg Film Review PARANDA MEDIA 80 Vaughn Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10801 Contact: Margery Laing 914-393-3037 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Februa...
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...
The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock 'n’ Roll
The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock 'n’ Roll Robert Fleming Book Review It’s a shame that nothing substantial has been written about that sacred Black entertainment network of the ...
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...
Dark Midnight When I Rise
Dark Midnight When I Rise Paige Turner Book Review The history of blacks in America remains a vast uncharted territory. While the contributions of mainstream cultures have been duly recorded, the e...
Crisis of the Black Intellectual
Crisis of the Black Intellectual Kam Williams Book Review ’Today there are many Black intellectuals who do not think of Black people as a people and have no wish to do so. They think of the...
The Black Sleuth
The Black Sleuth Thumper Book Review Suggested Title: Tale of Early Black Detective Prescribes Strong Medicine Or Forgotten Black Writer Doses Up Strong Medicine Northeastern University Press, in its...
Creating Black Americans
Creating Black Americans Kam Williams Book Review ’Over the course of more than two centuries, black American artists have represented their history- scrupulously, meaningfully, and brilliantl...
The Denzel Principle: Why Black Women Can’t Find Good Black Men
The Denzel Principle: Why Black Women Can’t Find Good Black Men Kam Williams Book Review "What do black women want? The truth? They are looking for Denzel Washington. They have been so thoroughly b...
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. ...
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...
Reconsidering The Souls of Black Folk
Reconsidering The Souls of Black Folk Thumper Book Review To commemorate the 100th anniversary of The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois — of one of the most significant books ever publis...
Charcoal Joe
Charcoal Joe Tony Lindsay Book Review What was refreshingly abundant in Walter Mosley’s Charcoal Joe was Black male characters. From strong Black men to Black men seeking guidance, the reader w...
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...
The Black Chicago Renaissance
The Black Chicago Renaissance Kam Williams Book Review “Beginning in the 1930s and lasting into the 1950s, black Chicago experienced a cultural renaissance that rivaled and, some argued, exce...
Miles and Me
Miles and Me Paige Turner Book Review Quincy Troupe’s candid account of his friendship with Miles Davis is a revealing portrait of a great musician and an intimate study of a unique...
Seduced
Seduced Sheree Renée Thomas Book Review As a rule, I don’t kiss and tell, but sometimes, sometimes you get a hold to something that is just too good to keep to yourself. Well, I have to admit i...
Looking for Happy
Looking for Happy Judy Allen Dodson Book Review “Some days, Happy is Hard to Find” as we set out on a quest in this heartfelt and hopeful picture book, Looking For Happy, which follows a ...
Why White Kids Love Hip Hop
Why White Kids Love Hip Hop Kam Williams Book Review "Hip-hop is the last hope for this generation and arguably the last hope for America… The best remedy for leaving the o...
The Story of Lovers Rock
The Story of Lovers Rock Kam Williams loversrock1.jpg Film Review Nostalgic Documentary Celebrates Influential Black Brit Music Genre The Story of Lovers Rock [2011] Unrated Running t...
I Can Do Bad All by Myself
I Can Do Bad All by Myself Kam Williams img1A.jpg Film Review DVD Features Adaptation of Tyler Perry’s Music-Driven Morality Play I Can Do Bad All by Myself Click to order via Amazon Rat...
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...
Beulah Hill
Beulah Hill Thumper Book Review I am sounding the alert that I just read a novel that has a strong black male character in it. Let’s imagine that I’m waving a big neon sign with...
Don’t Blame It on Rio
Don’t Blame It on Rio Kam Williams Book Review ’Black women were once at the center of black men’s lives, as wives, mothers, lovers and partners’ However, in this generation, b...
The Little Black Book
The Little Black Book Kam Williams Book Review "The object of this Survival Manual is to save lives - the lives of Black African Males who are on the Endangered list in this American society...
Everything But The Burden
Everything But The Burden Rondall Brasher Book Review "Of all of our studies, history is best qualified to reward ourresearch." —El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X) This quo...
Bill Clinton and Black America
Bill Clinton and Black America Walter Benefield Book Review Bill Clinton came to the presidency of the United States inheriting a less than admirable race relations history from his predecessors. Wha...
Pregnant While Black: Advancing Justice for Maternal Health in America
Pregnant While Black: Advancing Justice for Maternal Health in America Eryka Parker Book Review As a Black woman born and raised in the United States, I have always been aware of how blessed I am to ...
Diary of a Tired Black Man
Diary of a Tired Black Man Kam Williams diary_11.jpg Film Review Brow-Beaten Brother Gets Even in Thought-Provoking Melodrama Diary of a Tired Black Man Unrated Running time: 108 m...
Stepping into Womanhood: A Black Woman’s Poetic Journey
Stepping into Womanhood: A Black Woman’s Poetic Journey Sister Shiree Sarana Book Review After reading sistah Traci Brooks’ book, Stepping into Womanhood: A Black Woman’s Poetic Journey,...
Blacktrospective 2008 - Annual Assessment of the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema
Blacktrospective 2008 - Annual Assessment of the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/the_se11.jpg Film Review Kam's Annual Assessment of the Best (and...
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson Kam Williams Book Review ’I have admired and adored Michael Jackson from the first time I heard his name and listened to his music. I have never been more fasc...
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...
Delightfulee
Delightfulee Robert Fleming Book Review One of Jazz’s trumpet kings, Dizzy Gillespie, a founder of bop, considered Lee Morgan one of the major post-bop trumpet stylists, along with Fr...
Stagolee Shot Billy
Stagolee Shot Billy Thumper Book Review It was because of my mother’s and aunt Janice’s love of 60’s soul music that I first encountered and fell in love with Wilson Pickett singin...
Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix
Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix Kam Williams Book Review "To really know about a person, you have to do things that they did, and see the things that they saw. So I li...
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...
Marvel’s Black Panther
Marvel’s Black Panther Brenda M. Greene Book Review The 2016 San Diego Comic-Con was a memorable moment for independent researcher and writer Todd Steven Burroughs. Burroughs begins Marvel’s Bl...
The Black Church: Where Women Pray and Men Prey
The Black Church: Where Women Pray and Men Prey Kam Williams Book Review “If you are a single black woman regularly attending church and tithing, or you are a woman with children that accomp...
This Side of Glory
This Side of Glory Thumper Book Review This Side Of Glory: The Autobiography of David Hilliard and the Story of the Black Panther Party by David Hilliard and Lewis Cole On my continuing quest in read...
Post Black: How a New Generation Is Redefining African-American Identity
Post Black: How a New Generation Is Redefining African-American Identity Kam Williams Book Review "In this book, I will not detail every pathological condition that ever existed in African-American...
Joan Myers Brown & the Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina
Joan Myers Brown & the Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina Kam Williams Book Review “Blacks in the segregationist United States of America of the 30s and 40s fought back with inherent toug...
(1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race
(1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race Kam Williams Book Review “What exactly is Blackness and what does it mean to be Black? Is Blackness a matter of biology or consciousness? Who determines...
The Vanishing Black Male
The Vanishing Black Male Kam Williams the_va2.jpg Film Review Documentary Explores Issue of Disappearing African-American Men The Vanishing Black Male Studio: Seven Generations Product...
Black Snake Moan
Black Snake Moan Kam Williams black_3.jpg Film Review Bible-Thumping Bluesman Tames Wanton Woman in Tawdry Tale of Sin and Redemption Black Snake Moan Rated R for profanity, nudity, gr...
Black Dynamite
Black Dynamite Kam Williams images/img19.jpg Film Review Campy Spoof of Blaxploitation Era Comes to Blu-Ray Black Dynamite Click to order from Amazon Rated R for profanity, ma...
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution Kam Williams black-pathers-movie-poster.jpg Film Review The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution In Theaters: Sep 2, 2015 Limited Runtime: 1 hr....
America The Black Point of View
America The Black Point of View Kam Williams Book Review “I come from a place that is so invisible that you can hardly see me. Yet, I am despised, hated and feared more than anyone or anythin...
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...
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, ...
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 Black Clergy’s Misguided Worship Leadership
The Black Clergy’s Misguided Worship Leadership Robert Fleming Book Review With this defiant publication, The Black Clergy’s Misguided Worship Leadership, Dr. Christopher C. Bell, Jr....
New England White
New England White Kam Williams Book Review ’I like writing [about] this world for the same reason that others like reading [about] it: the black upper class is a continuing fascination, an...
Post-Traumatic
Post-Traumatic Robert Fleming Book Review Chantal Johnson’s debut novel, Post-Traumatic, confronts the emotional toll of sexual assault, a real-life survivor narrative, with the prickly residue...
Womanish Theology
Womanish Theology Eryka Parker Book Review “How differently would Black girls see the world or themselves had they [been] represented and treated as imago Dei [created in the image and likeness...
What Black Men Think
What Black Men Think Kam Williams what_b40.jpg Film Review Thought-Provoking Documentary Examines "What Black Men Think" What Black Men Think Click to order via Amazon...
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 Kam Williams black_power_fist.jpg Film Review Black Revolution of the Sixties Revisited via Swedish Cinematic Collage The Black Power Mixtape 1967-19...
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...
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 ...
Boss of Black Brooklyn, The Life and Times of Bertram Baker
Boss of Black Brooklyn, The Life and Times of Bertram Baker Brenda M. Greene Book Review Bertram Baker was a man of his times… Like Du Bois, Bertram believed in agitating to achieve political...
Words to Our Now: Imagination & Dissent
Words to Our Now: Imagination & Dissent Kam Williams Book Review ’The word ’faggot’ itself is to me as nasty a form of violence as the perennial spit-nastiness in that classic Ame...
The Covenant with Black America
The Covenant with Black America Kam Williams Book Review Book Review by Kam Williams "Why a Covenant with Black America? In short, because’ without organization, black folk will ...
What the Word Be: Why Black English… Is the King’s (James) English
What the Word Be: Why Black English… Is the King’s (James) English Kam Williams Book Review “Blacks came to the U.S. chained to each other but from different tribes. Neither could spea...
Iconic: Decoding Images of the Revolutionary Black Woman
Iconic: Decoding Images of the Revolutionary Black Woman Kam Williams Book Review “This book asks what it means to represent black womanhood and explores how these representations are connect...
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...
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...
Be a Father to Your Child
Be a Father to Your Child Kam Williams Book Review ’I will be completely candid here and say that I have carried around a great deal of resentment toward older Black men since...
Historical Dict. of African-American TV
Historical Dict. of African-American TV Kam Williams Book Review ’Most African-Americans who recall early television will say the first nationwide black-cast TV series they saw was Amos &...
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...
Black Silk
Black Silk Thumper Book Review Black Silk: A Collection of African American Erotica is an anthology that cheers the sexual, sensual side of African-Americans in literature told through short stories ...
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...
Who’s Afraid of a Large Black Man?
Who’s Afraid of a Large Black Man? Kam Williams Book Review "We were the only minority family in all of Cypress, California. When my parents moved in, before I was born, they used to have th...
Black Brother, Black Brother
Black Brother, Black Brother Shafika Burke Book Review Invisibility is all Donte wishes for after moving from New York to Massachusetts. The move places him in a war against people blinded by racism ...
I Take My Coffee Black
I Take My Coffee Black Alvin Romer Book Review In his memoir, I Take My Coffee Black author, actor, musician, comedian, and activist, Tyler Merritt recounts, in his uniquely poignant way, the trials ...
Black Food
Black Food Robert Fleming Book Review Black food, aka Soul food, is celebrated all over the world for its delicious ingredients, tangy flavors, homegrown recipes, and traditional richness. This book,...
Black Women, Ivory Tower
Black Women, Ivory Tower Ahmad Wright Book Review The best colleges and universities in the nation promise a sense of belonging, public validation, and personal relationships that can last a lifetime...
Never Wear Red Lipstick: 8 Lies That Stop Black Women from Succeeding in Life and Business
Never Wear Red Lipstick: 8 Lies That Stop Black Women from Succeeding in Life and Business Shaundale Rénā Book Review I was surprised by Never Wear Red Lipstick: 8 Lies That Stop Black Women from Suc...
The Price of the Ticket: Barack Obama and the Rise and Decline of Black Politics
The Price of the Ticket: Barack Obama and the Rise and Decline of Black Politics Kam Williams Book Review “Barack Obama’s triumph in the presidential election of 2008… contains ...
The Wealth Choice: Success Secrets of Black Millionaires
The Wealth Choice: Success Secrets of Black Millionaires Kam Williams Book Review “In spite of Black America’s advances… with more successful, educated and accomplished entrepren...
Party Crashing
Party Crashing Kam Williams Book Review ’Unlike their parents and grandparents, young black Americans no longer view their political identity as black and white, so to speak. Today,...
Crash
Crash Kam Williams crash.70.jpg Film Review Crash Director & Writer: Paul Haggis Studio: Lions Gate Films Cast: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fic...
Evan Almighty
Evan Almighty Kam Williams evan_a1.jpg Film Review God Asks Modern-Day Noah to Build Ark in Faith-Based Family Comedy Evan Almighty Rated PG for crude humor and scenes of ...
Blacktrospective 2010 - Annual Assessment of the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema
Blacktrospective 2010 - Annual Assessment of the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/images/Just-Wright.jpg Film Review Blacktrospective 2010 - Annual Assessmen...
Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights
Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights Kam Williams Book Review “Whiteness… derives power from its status as an unmarked category… [It] nev...
All About the Beat: Why Hip-Hop Can’t Save Black America
All About the Beat: Why Hip-Hop Can’t Save Black America Kam Williams Book Review ’There is apparently something about hip-hop that distracts people into, in some part of their br...
African American History for Dummies
African American History for Dummies Kam Williams Book Review ’African-American history, to be clear, is so much more than a handful of extraordinary individuals or practices like slaver...